The 'Other' Guardian
by Raine Moon
Summary: A young owl decides to take on the task of discovering the truth about himself and the true evil of his world. To do so, he will receive the aid of an unexpected ally through his epic tale of survival and deceit. Please R&R. First story about GoG.
1. One Big Adventure With Feathers

**Well, this is the beginning of a whole new project for me. Since I don't really have any imagination left for my other story, I started this project because, first of all, I adore the series that Kathryn Lasky wrote. Her books are well detailed and they have such a good story even though I'm only at the 11th book. Anyways, I do not own Soren, Gylfie, Grimble or any other character from the original story. I only own Kurth(for now) and the plot that will follow in the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that bear any resemblances to Kathryn Lasky's characters. I only own my own character(Kurth) and the plot, which will differ greatly from the original story.**

**Chapter 1: One Big Adventure With Feathers**

Over! I had finally finished the book set of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole from well-known author Kathryn Lasky. It included the first four books of this series of fifteen books and I had just finished the fourth book called 'The Siege' and I was glad because I knew that I had finished reader the first books and also since I was in awe. I had watched the movie first, a very, very bad idea, and the more I read, the more that I realized that the movie had been altered so much from the books.

Oh, please forgive my rudeness. Here I am relating those things to you and I didn't even introduce myself. My real name is Michael Turner but where I am now, I am known as Kurth and this; well, this is my story and this is how it goes. I was on my way to my family's relatives and since I knew that I would be bored while going there so I brought my books with me since I really wanted to finish the fourth book. While the books were relatively smaller than most of the books I had read, they contained a loadful of suspense, intrigue and drama compared to those same books I have read.

While on our ride, I had finished reading the fourth book but my thirst for reading was still growing and I had to find myself to read. However, there were none and I didn't want to read the first book once more since I already knew the entire story from the first book to the fourth one. So, in the end, I listened to my IPod for the rest of my trip. Upon arriving at our relatives' house, we were warmly greeted by them. For the rest of the day, we told each other jokes, anecdotes and other facts about politics and whatever happened on an everyday basis.

After I went to sleep, I began having strange dreams about owls just like in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole. I dreamt of St. Aegolius and its academy for orphaned owls and in my dream were Soren and Gylfie as owlets when they were snatched away in the first book but with them was another owl that I had never read about and his name seemed to be Kurth. This was strange because Kurth was also the surname of the main character of my fanfic about the Legend of Spyro. However, I had never thought about including him in this particuliar series.

However, I ended thinking that this was just another dream influenced by my thirst for knowledge and my my imagination at first but it happened the night after. That time too, I thought it was just my imagination playing tricks on me but it became even more frequent and my dreams happened on almost every night. I could still remember one even though it has been a while.

**Beginning of Dream**

_Soren and Gylfie couldn't believe what they had just been through. One of their most precious friend, Hortense, had just been killed by Finny, one of the pit guardians of St. Aegolius and to make things worse, another friend they had had been sent to room where they had been submitted to the moon scalding, a process much far more brutal than the moon blinking which consisted in hypnotizing an owl to make them forget about their names. The process also made them lose their will, their feeling and such things to make them into totally obedient owls that just executed their tasks. In fact, St. Aegolius' plan was to rule over all the owls kingdoms using the moon blinking. _

_Anyways, when thy had seen their friend again, they noticed that he had been made into a perfectly moon blinked owl that didn't respond to his old name anymore. He only did when they called out to him with his number designation. However, because of what had happened with Hortense a while before, they were a little suspicious about Kurth being truly moon blinked. The truth about Kurth was that he had been called by Skench, The Ablah General of St. Aegolius, personally and that after they were finished with him, they sent him directly to the moon scalding room where they were in a little while before._

_Still, when Soren and Gylfie tried to to approach him, he didn't even respond after hearing his name and instead told them that he was now known as 15-7. When Soren had met Kurth, he was glad yo find another Barn Owl in the same pit as he was but he had noticed something was amiss with Kurth. He saw it in the bigger Barn Owl's eyes that he didn't know who he was completely. Still, Kurth never really looked scared of any other owls in St. Aegolius. Not even Skench managed to install fear into him but there were some days where he was even more of a coward than Gylfie when she snatched away. Soren thought that it was just a part of the Barn Owl's personality, but he didn't seem to worry that much about it anyhow. _

_Another that had happened to both Soren and Kurth was the laughter therapy, which consisted in plucking one's flight feather, because they had both asked a questions when questions were prohibited in St. Aggie's. However, when they were thinking of finally leaving, Gylfie protested in leaving Kurth behind, but Soren told her that he had made his choice by staying in St. Aegolius._

**End of Dream**

That dream felt so strange and yet, so real at the same time. I awakened suddenly that night and I had trouble sleeping after that because I was trying to understand the meaning of my dream but it ended up giving me no results on the matter. At first, I had thought of going to see in the first book of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, however, it was highly against my principles to to read the book of a series more than once before I had finished the entire series first. Still, I was sure that there were no Kurth in the first as I knew the entire story up to the fourth book by heart.

Over the next few weeks, I started ignoring those dreams since they seemed to repeat themselves and after some time, those dreams became meaningless and I finally managed to get some good rest over the next weeks compared to the first weeks. However, about six months after I first had those dreams, I had another strange dream concerning the events of the first book, but this dream really caught my attention. In that dream, I saw Kurth, the new Barn Owl of which I had never heard about, escape St. Aegolius even if I had seen it in my other dreams that he seemed like a perfectly moon blinked owl due to the moon scalding.

I also saw it in that new dream that when he was escaping, Skench and Spoorn were behind him, trying to catch him but because of some maneuvers he had learned from an owl in St. Aggie's, which was strange because the only un-moon blinked owl in St. Aegolius was Grimble and he had been killed by Skench when Soren and Gylfie had escaped from the academy. This was almost impossible unless Kurth had gained so much worth in the academy that he received his his name and had been taught how to fly by anyone high placed in St. Aggie's. Maybe it had been Skench, maybe Spoorn or Unk.

As of now, that was the most probable possibility. Because of that, I decided to take the first book now that I had finished the entire series and I started to read it again. It took me about three hours and a half to finish the book. I divided the reading of the book in four days because I wanted to read it words by words, lines by lines and pages by pages. After reading the half of the book, I saw that I was right and that there were no owl named Kurth in the story. One the night of the fourth day, it was getting late, but I didn't want to let go of my darn book and around midnight, my vision started to blur a little. When it was around one in the morning, my vision was so much of a blur that I was beginning to see some letters reshaping themselves in the page I was reading. They joined together to form one sentence; the owl kingdoms are in need of you.

A few seconds later, I was surrounded by a small whirlwind and it made me kind of dizzy but I only lost consciousness the moment feathers appeared inside the whirlwind...

**Well, that's about it for my first chapter. I hope you liked it and I also hope that you will send me positive/constructive/friendly reviews about this. Like I say sometimes, Flames will be read, and ignored. Good comments will read, and loved and constructive comments will be read, and favorited. Well, for now LordChronicler46, out!**


	2. An Adventure Not So Great After All

**Warning! There will be a great use of the reference with the first book and I will also use many speeches and description from the first book because the events of this chapter and the 3rd that will follow after that will happen about in the same time as when Soren and Gylfie are in St. Aegolius.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own in any case Soren, Gylfie, Hortense, Skench, Spoorn, Grimble, Finny, Unk, Jatt, Jutt and all the other owls in the original are the © of Kathryn Lasky. I only own Kurth(for now) and the plot.**

**—**

**Chapter 2: An Adventure Not So Great After All**

I began gaining back consciousness when I felt a pressure against my wings. What the hell? Since when did I have wings. Well ... anyways, when I looked around me to catch a glimpse of what was happening, I saw that it was an owl that blocked my wings and after further observation, I realized that I was an owlet, and a Tyto alba at that. It was because of the colours of my feathers that I realized that I was a young Barn Owl. However, there was something that I quickly noticed, but it really did pick my attention. It was as if I were myself and at the same time, I wasn't. I came up with the theory that since I was brought to another world, my mind must've been mixed with the one of the owlet I was in.

One question was still hovering over my head, though. I was still wondering where they were taking us. My question almost seemed to have been answered by itself when I saw a Barn Owl and an Elf Owl being brought by two other owls. At first, I was confused as to who the two were but after sometime, I was sure that I knew them from somewhere. I just couldn't remember from where I had seen them last.

"Jatt! Hurry up here for Glaux's sake! You're being as slow as ever and you and I both know that even though though we're lieutenants, Skench still doesn't like that habit of yours," one of the owls ahead said to the owl that was carrying me.

"Where are you taking us?" I wasn't just me who had asked that question. I said it at the same time as the young Barn that was to my left.

It was a little bit later that I learned that those two owls were respectively named Soren and Gylfie. When they had asked for my name, however, we were interrupted by the owl name Jutt, Jatt's cousin, who was carrying Soren while the owl named Grimble was carrying Gylfie. A few minutes had passed and Jatt was flying next to Jutt and I was next to Soren. I tried to speak to him, but Gylfie told us to remain silent for the time being. We then saw hundred of owls coming to join the formation our captors were in and all of them were carrying owlets of different breeds. Some were Burrowing Owl, others were Great Grey and so on, but something was wrong; why would they snatch away so many owlets? Gylfie told us later on that we could discuss when the owls transporting us started humming a hymn and soon, all the other owls joined them and their hymn got louder and louder and then Gylfie told us that we could speak freely until their hymn ended.

"So, what's your name?" Soren asked me.

"I'm Kurth and I'm from Tyto Forest." I had replied but strangely, I had never thought about that reply. It just happened to come out naturally.

"I figured as much," Soren told me. "Barn Owls such as you and me all come from the Forest Kingdom of Tyto."

"What happened to you to cause you to be snatched away?" Gylfie asked me.

"I don't quite remember. I regained consciousness a few moments ago. Though I heard you a little earlier saying that your names are Soren and Gylfie. I also heard that you, Gylfie, tried to fly before you were really ready for flight and that Soren fell out of his hollow even if the circumstances are a little bit suspicious."

On the inside, I tried to understand what was happening logically what was happening and on the outside, both Soren and Gylfie saw that I was afraid of the owls transporting us. Maybe it was the result of having two minds coexisting in the same body. Maybe that was why I let out a reply without thinking about it. So that would mean that Kurth was the real name of this owlet. An idea then popped into my mind. I wondered if maybe I could meet with that owlet in my subconscious to bargain something with him that allowed us to share a single mind instead of having two different minds in the same body.

Enough thinking, though. I, along with Soren and Gylfie, noticed a stone fortress deep in the canyons under us. I then felt the owl above me starting to bank and along with Jutt and Grimble and all the other owls transporting owlets. They began to circle down towards the fortress where no trees stood. Just endless rock needles. I could hear Kurth inside saying that this was certainly not Tyto. The owls descended even deeper and deeper, passing through stone circles that seemed to become tighter and tighter until we were just above a stony floor in the deep canyons. It was then that I heard a voice that was louder and sharper than even the sound of the wind echoing through my ears.

"Welcome to St. Aegolius, owlets. This is your new home now. It is here that you shall find your purpose. This is our motto here. When Truth is Found, Purpose Is Revealed." That owl, a Great Horned Owl, was immense. And she seemed to to look at us with her yellow gaze. A Strange thing on her left wing was that her shoulder feathers were separated, revealing a patch of skin where a white scar was visible. "You will know me as Skench, Ablah General of St. Aegolius. My job here is to teach of the Truth. We also greatly discourage questions here as it often distract from the truth."

Skench then continued her strange speech. "You are now orphans."

I could hear Kurth revolt against this statement. He was saying that he had a mum and da although he did not remember them very well and he was right to revolt as did Soren and many others because an orphan was a child whose parents were dead or if those parents had abandoned that child. I wasn't really disagreeing with this nor was I agreeing with it since I was not even from this world to begin with. However, Soren looked outraged. I could see it in his eyes that he thought that Skench had no right to call him an orphan.

"We have rescued you and it is here at St. Aegolius that you will learn to become humble servants of a higher good."

"Now this was getting absurd. That whole thing about orphans and higher good was strange and I certainly did not want to be a part of it. Not in my lifetime! And neither did Soren or Gylfie. I had just arrived and I already wanted out as soon as possible. The only problem was that if I tried to escape, I'd either get killed or plucked after they would have captured me once more.

"You need to know that there are many ways to serve this greater good and it is our role to lead you to that special way. And I am sure that all of you have something special." Again, I started to dislike Skench's voice by the second. "After I have dismissed you, you will be brought to one of the four glaucidiums, where two things will happen. One of them is the attribution of you designation number and the other is where you'll learn the proper manner in which you will sleep and you will be inducted to the march of sleep. Those two things are the first steps in acquiring your rank of specialness."

Unlike Soren, I did not ponder or wonder about endless questions because I was already thinking of a way to get out of St. Aegolius but as of that time, nothing has passed through my mind yet. However, before I could prepare to think for a plan thoroughly, I was gently shoved in a line along with Soren but Gylfie did not seem to be with us in the line. We did noticed her and we did try to ctach he attention by raising our wings to wave but she never noticed us. The line Soren and I were in passed though deep gorges and it resembled more a stone maze than the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls as it were written in the stone notches.

Soren and I both had an unsettling feeling that we'd never meet Gylfie again but unlike Soren, I didn't feel like one would never find its way out of the canyons and I was planning to escape St. Aegolius, not matter what the costs are. We finally arrived in a circular stone pit and a Snowy Owl with very thick feathers waddled towards our group, and blinked. I noticed that her eyes, unlike Skench's, had only a very soft yellow gaze.

"I am Finny and from this day forth, I will be your pit guardian. I would gladly appreciate it if you would all call me Auntie," Finny told us.

I could see the same question I was asking myself form itself on Soren's beak but he quickly kept it for himself after remembering that no questions were allowed in St. Aegolius. I didn't know what was wrong with her, however, there was no chance in hagsmire that I would call that weirdo 'Auntie' and no one would force me to do so.

"Of course, I'll have to you by your designation, which will be given to you soon," Finny continued.

"Oh, goody!" A little Spotted Owl next to Soren said.

"Why would you want a number instead of your real name?" I heard Soren ask.

I couldn't help but think that he was a complete idiot. He knew it very well that questions were not allowed and here he was, asking some questions to the first owl he could find besides me.

"Hortense! You wouldn't like the name either." The Spotted Owl whispered. "Now, shush. Remember, no questions."

"You shall, of course," Finny resumed. "if you are humble little owls and if you learn your lessons of humility and obedience, earn your specialness rank and then receive my true name."

Now this was getting totally absurd! Why would a owlet require a true name when it already had one. Thinking about this logically, I analysed every bit of information I had acquired upon my arrival at St. Aegolius and while the intentions of the owls of the academy were still unclear, it was clear to me that they were planning something, something evil and just thinking about it made my gizzard stir. Yes, I could now feel things with my gizzard. In any case, i had to find a way out what those owls were up to before making way out of St. Aggie's.

"Now now. Line up so we can begin the Number ceremony and I happen to have a tempting little surprise for you."

By watching the group, I counted that there were at least twenty owls, approximately, and while Soren was in the middle of the group, I was at the end of the line and there were maybe two owls behind me. At some occasions, I could hear Finny give a number to some owls far in front of me and she always called them using small words that made the other owlets trust her. Still, she wouldn't be able to get me because I had a will of iron. My life back in my world had at least taught me that. I had thought of everything concerning the situation around me but alas, I had not correctly thought about Kurth's fear of everything around him in St. Aggie's. If I had known, I would have thought about him but I never thought he'd go around and ruin all of my plans. Anyway, it was now Soren's turn to receive his number and I could clearly see that he was scared of Finny.

"Hello, sweetness," Finny cooed as Soren made a step forward. "I have a very special number for you!"

Soren remained silent at first. Good idea, Soren! When Finny asked him if he wanted to know what his number was, he still remained silent, knowing that questions were not allowed in the presence of an owl such as Finny. His reply, the fact that no questions were allowed, didn't seem to surprise the Snowy at all.

"You know, I'm not as strict as all those other owls. So please, if you have other questions, just go on ahead. Just remember to keep your voice down when you do so. Hear, take this extra piece of mouse, dear," she sighed and then, her snow white face almost seemed to turn yellow. "and as for you number. My favourite—12-1. Isn't it sublime? That number is very special and I am sure that you shall find your specialness as an owl."

Soren thanked Finny in a normal way but she forced him,subtly, to call her 'Auntie', something that I wasn't going to do any time soon. Soon, it was my turn and this time, I had hoped that Kurth wouldn't interfere in any way and when I stepped forward, Finny approached me like she had approached all the others before me.

"Hello, dear," she cooed. "I have a very lucky number for you." When she saw that I remained silent, Finny followed with the same question she had asked Soren earlier. "Don't you want to what what you number is?"

"Don't care and never will but if you insist, give it your all."

At first, she seemed shocked of of my answer and thank Glaux that Kurth had not interfered on this one. However, it didn't take Finny very long for her to come back to the original conversation.

"Well, you seem to have a lot of fire in that gizzard of yours. In any case, your number is 15-7, a very lucky number if you ask me. And I'm also sure that you will find your own specialness as an owl her in St. Aegolius.

She tried to give me an extra piece of mouse but my consciousness told me to refuse it. I ended up ignoring her offer and went away in the same direction as Soren did after he had been numbered. When I arrived into the glaucidium, I looked around myself only to notice that this '_glaucidium'_ was a deep box canyon on which the floor was covered by sleeping owlets. The new owlets that had just arrived, namely myself along with my own group that had been snatched away recently, were escorted by two large, ragged brown owls.

Another thing that I had noticed was that the moonlight was shining down directly on our head. After a few moments, a rather large Barn Owl was next to Soren and from what I was able to hear, he told him to got to the back row, where I was. After that, he ordered us to assume the sleeping position. Then, the two owls that had escorted us spoke to us now. Soren was next to me since he had been sent to the back and it happened that I was in the back row too. Anyhow, when those two Long-Eared Owls started the speak alternatively, I saw that Soren was very nervous because he was scared of them but it wasn't just those two that scared him. All the owls of St. Aggie's scared him.

Those two owls always alternated their speech in short deep _whoos. _Now, those _whoos_ seemed to be very disturbing for both Soren and Kurth, whose fear I could actually feel, and I could feel as if Kurth was telling me that those _whoos_ disturbed him even more than Skench's voice earlier.

"I am Jatt," said the first owl. "I was once a number. But now, I have earned my new name."

"Wha..." Soren and I snapped.

"I see a question forming on your disgusting beaks, 12-1 and 15-7!"

"Let me make this perfectly clear. At St. Aggie's, such words are not to be spoken. Such words are question words, a habit of mental luxury and indulgence. Questions might fatten imagination, but they also starve owlish instincts of hardiness, patience, humility and self-denial. We shall not allow you to make an orgy of questions words because they are swear words, punishable by our most severe means at our disposal." Jatt blinked and I then saw him lay his gaze on me and Soren. "We are here to make true owls of you. And someday, you will thank us for it"

When I looked on my left to check on Soren, I could see it just by his face that he was about to faint because of all the fear he had. I then saw him correct himself when Jatt resumed speaking in his usual _whoos_. "Now, my cousin shall address you."

The second owl, also know as Jutt now, had an identical voice from Jatt. "I am Jutt. I, too, was a number here, but I have earned my new name. Now, you are in the sleeping position. Standing tall, head up, beak tipped to the moon. See all the other owls in the glaucidium. They have all learned to sleep in this manner. You, too, shall learn."

Just after their long and boring speech, I did as Jatt and Jutt demanded of us without obeying to what they demanded of us. Before that, though, I looked in Soren's direction and I saw that he was desperately searching for someone and I figured that it must've been Gylfie he looked for. Although he didn't find her at first, I noticed that he also looked pretty often at Hortense. When I looked at her, I saw that she had assumed the perfect sleeping position and just by the stillness of her head, I figured that she was already fast asleep.

I then saw a stone arc that seemed to connect to another glaucidium and there was a great mass of owlets there that all marched. Their beaks were bobbling open and shut but both Sorena nd I couldn't hear a word of what they were saying. Once again, I heard Jatt say something to us.

"It is strictly forbidden to sleep with the head tucked the under the wings, dipped towards the breast or in the manner that many of you are accustomed, which is the semi-twist position in which the head rests on the back and to make this clear, incorrect sleeping posture is also punishable using our most severe methods."

After hearing this, I saw that Soren was resisting the urge to ask questions and while he did that, Jutt was speaking once again, telling us that sleep monitors would be patrolling the glaucidium at regular intervals. He also told us that when we would hear an alarm, it would mean the beginning of the sleep march. We were then told that during the sleep march, we had to repeat our old name over and over again and when we would hear the second alarm, we would say our number one time only and assume the sleeping position once again.

I didn't know why, but I couldn't sleep. I just couldn't. Deep in my mind, something was telling me to stay awake and ignoring my mind wouldn't be the best idea in St. Aggie's. I had to trust my mind for it was going to help me got away from the place. And anyway, Soren couldn't sleep either, probable for the same reasons as me, but I wasn't sure if that was the case though. There was one thing that I found strange and that was the fact that even though those owls had told us to repeat our names over and over again, I, myself, wasn't of what my name was right now.

Sure, I had introduced myself as Kurth, although I did not say it of my own will. Instead, it had been the owlet with whom I shared the same body and he did seem to be a coward, but I suppose that this is how anyone would behave in front of such owls and evil. However, I did not feel a speck of fear in front of such things. It was during that first sleep march that I started to think about several plans to escape but at the moment, none of them had a really good ending. I was so plunged into my thought that I never noticed Soren trying to call out to Hortense only to learn that she only responded to her number.

Just as I came back to reality, I saw that Soren had something seen something on the other side of the stone arc we were under. I tried to ask him subtly what it was that he had seen but before I could ask him, the second alarm sounded in a high pitched shriek. I didn't know what exactly this alarm was supposed to do, however, before I could dwell on the thing itself, I was pushed along with Soren in a mass of owlets reaching the thousands that started to march while repeating their names over and over again.

For some reasons, my body seemed to wilf somehow and I guessed that it must have been because of Kurth's fear that this happened. Soren then told me that we would try to join Gylfie in a whisper, but it took more than three times circling around under the full light of the full moon and I could tell that Soren had had his share of this treatment. He also tried to speak to Hortense but she really did answer only to her number as Soren called her out several times.

When we were back under the arc we were when the sleep march began, Soren and I quickly moved to the other side where the two glaucidiums connected and just before the sleep monitors gave out the order to sleep, we managed to get next to Gylfie. The small Elf Owl suddenly turned her head towards us.

"They're moon blinking us," Gylfie whispered.

"What?"

It almost seemed to relieve Soren to say a question word like this. It was strange. Dee down in my mind, I seemed to know just what moon blinking was all about but I couldn't explain it nor could I resume it. Once again, I thought that it was Kurth's mind that was interfering with my own. However, I still had nothing to prove it. I was lost so much in my mind, trying to find out what could moon blinking possibly be that I never heard Soren and Gylfie whispering to me to try to catch my attention.

"Kurth!" Gylfie exclaimed in a whisper.

"Oh... What is it, Gylfie?"

"Did you listen to anything I said about moon blinking?"

"No, not really. I'm sorry, I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't follow your conversa..." I didn't have time to finish what I was about to say as the alarm for the sleep march interrupted me.

Once more, we had to march three circuits to meet up with Gylfie and during those three circuits, I noticed that Soren was really getting tired from staying awake like this during the night when owls were supposed to be active. Although my mind was fully awoken, Kurth's body was getting tired too but I couldn't afford to fall asleep now. Both my mind and my gizzard were making sleep impossible for me. This would be where one would struggle against oneself to stay , something went through my mind and it sounded like music but that music was very unusual and yet, it appealed to me in a strange way. It was thanks to this that I had become fully awoken, noth body and mind, and I felt like I could stay like this for several days.

Finally, we once again joined with Gylfie when the alarm telling us to sleep sounded after our three circuits.

"Remember what I told you. Don't sleep!"

"But I'm so tired. How can I help it?" Soren asked Gylfie

"Just think of anything," I told him.

"What?"

"Anything..." Gylfie hesitated a bit before continuing as a sleep monitor shoved her. "Think of flying."

The alarm once again sounded and we all had to start sleep marching again. I could hear Soren repeating his name again and again and close, Hortense and some other Great Horned Owl, whose name just blended in the air as did all the others' names. I repeated the name Kurth over and over again but it didn't do anything. The name was not fading away nor was it getting more influence on my mind. It just stayed the sameé For Soren, though, it was another story.

It looked like his name didn't have any meaning anymore to him but when he realized that, he snapped out of this strange state and that when he realized that we were being moon blinked with our names. He told me that it all made sense now thanks to Gylfie's explanation about moon blinking. Soon, we were with Gylfie once again and we informed her of the situation.

"They're moon blinking us with our names, Gylfie," Soren gasped once he was next to his friend under the stone arc.

It had already made sense to me and when I looked into the Elf Owl's eyes, I immediately knew that she understood what it meant. It meant that a name repeated endlessly would become a sound without any meaning anymore. It would just end up losing its individuality.

"Just move your beak or say you number, but don't say your name."

However, there were still three more night or so where the full moon would shine down upon us before it would begin to dwenk. After those days went by so fast, I could hardly remember what happened on those days completely. I do remember that Soren and Gylfie were planning their own escape plans while I planned mine when we were placed in the pelletorium. Still, I thought that my plans, at first, were not as successful as Soren and Gylfie's. But there was one day that I remembered quite clearly because of the events that happened on that same day. It was the day I was plucked along with Soren after doing what was most forbidden in St. Aegolius; asking a question.

I remember that it was in the day, as always, and that I was close to Soren and Gylfie but for the other details, I don't remember them quite well so I will try to relate what happened to the best of my abilities. Soren and I were getting assigned to the various workstations in St. Aggie's. While I had already been placed in the pelletorium by Finny, Soren was about to be placed as a cricket hunter. Even though an owlet wasn't supposed to ask to be changed from its workstation, Soren was able to get Finny to place him in the pelletorium, but I felt as if there was something behind that mask of kindness Finny wore nearly all the time. Of that I was sure.

In any case, once in the pelletorium, Soren, Gylfie and I were greeted by by an owl whose number was 47-2 and she told us that she would be our guide for the tour of the pelletorium. Although she did have a peculiar way of speaking, it didn't resemble Jatt and Jutt nor did it resemble any owl I had met up until now. We followed the owl that had already began marching and not long after, we heard the the small click that talons made upon striking the ground as owl the owlets in the pelletorium began to march together once more.

This part had become a little bit more interesting since 47-2 had begun to sing and soon after, all the other owlets followed her in the song. After that, it began to turn into a living nightmare. All the three of us, Soren, Gylfie and me, froze when we saw the terrifying sight we had in front of us. Hundreds of owl boobed their head up and down over what seemed to be thousands of pellets that had been yarped by other owls owls. That place really fitted the description of hagsmire as this sight was probably the worst part of that horrendous place known as the pelletorium.

47-2 then stepped up to us and, in her weird voice, began to speak to us. She informed us that she was a third-degree picker, whose tasks were to pick pellets for large objects. She also told us that second-degree pickers were the ones picking for feathers and fur while first-degree pickers were charged of picking flecks. She showed us what a fleck was and vaguely explained to us that it was supposed to be a metal of some sort. Then came the part of her speech that was a little less interesting and it was the part where she told us that she would be the one to instruct us as the most advanced third-degree picker.

Another thing that did not seem to be pleasant in St. Aegolius was the laughter therapy, which was the punishment given to those who had committted an offence in the Academy. Anyway, the work in the pelletorium was quite hard, almost endless, but fortunately, it was in perfect silent most of the time so it was easy to come up with plans under those circumstances. The only things that were heard most of the time were the orders coming from the monitors.

There were also some talk amongst the owls who were working and the more I listened, the stranger it seemed to become. All of a sudden, an owlet working on the same ledge as Soren walked up to him and began to speak to Soren, who was near me. I was quite close to Soren and so, I was able to hear was the owlet was telling him. Apparently, this peculiar owlet was telling the young Barn Owl that he felt quite perfect because he had finished his first set of pellets and at some distance, I saw that Gylfie had been approached by another peculiar owlet.

Since I was in my corner most of the time, avoiding speeches most of the time except when Soren or Gylfie wanted to talk to me, not that many owlets came to disturb me and when they did, I sent them away by glaring at them. At first, I thought that it had happened on a special occasion but now, I saw that owlets turned alternatively to Soren and Gylfie to five them reports on their states of contentment and sometimes, they would praise the two un-moon blinked owlets. Rarely did any owlets come towards me since I would often make them turn back. Then, the owlet that was the closest to Soren began to talk to the Barn Owl.

"12-1, your beak work is quite advanced. You work with industry and delicacy."

"Thank you," said Soren. He then, for some strange reasons, added," Thank you very much."

"You are welcome. But don't be excessively polite. Politeness is its own rewards, just like flecks."

"What are flecks?"

The question slipped out of me and Soren and I guessed it was because of the mention of flecks in almost every song of the pelletorium. I mostly asked it because I was most curious about everything I didn't know about but also because I wanted to know more about the flecks, of their powers and the reason why they were so precious to the owls of St. Aggie's. The two owlets that were always alternating at each others between Soren and Gylfie looked at each other before giving small piercing shrieks that mixed with their usual tone.

"Question alarm! Question alarm!"

Four ferocious looking, dark feathered owls, with their glaring yellow eyes, swooped down and plucked up the both of us.

"How could you?" Gylfie nearly cried out before her question died on her beak, luckily.

The owls weren't exactly gentle on the manner they were holding my wings with their talons and for a moment, I really thought that my wings would end up torn in half because of those owls. As those owls spiraled upwards in the pelletorium, I heard a surge of noisy vibrations that seemed to plummel me from below. I was later informed that those noisy vibrations were owls laughing at us sop hard that the air was tossed by their chuckles. A few moments later, we had landed on a high ledge, a very high one, and then, a screech filled the air as Skench, the Ablah General, landed next to Soren, followed by Spoorn, Skench's second-in-command. Just in front of me, I saw Soren being plucked, which meant that remove one's flight feathers by force. When my turn came, I endured part of this thing called the laughter therapy. When I finally fell unconscious, I knew that this was the right time to set some things straight in my own mind...

—

**Oh, well. The chapter was shorter than I thought it would be but fear not my faithful followers, the third chapter is going to be a lot longer than this one. I think it's going to be the longest chapter on all the entries posted so far on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole. In any case, I won't be posting chapter three until I've written chapter four beforehand so don't leave this page thinking the third one is going to come out soon. Anyway, this is LordChronicler46 signing off...**


	3. The Escape

**Welcome back, folks! Here I am again, presenting you yet another chapter of this epic tale of survival and deceit through which our young hero, Kurth, tries to escape St. Aegolius. I shall not stall you any longer and from this point, I'll let you enjoy this epic entry that will maybe prove to be the longest entry in this section of the Books category.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT in any way own the Guardians of Ga'Hoole or the story in the books. Those belong to Kathryn Lasky. However, I only own Kurth(for now) and the plot of the fan fiction.**

—

**Chapter 3: The Escape**

I didn't know why but I really had trouble opening my eyes. Still, when I did, I immediately realized that I was in my room back in my own world, the world of humans. I had the first book of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series next to me. At first, I thought that everything that had happened in St. Aegolius along with Soren and Gylfie was only a dream born of my wild imagination that looked like it was trying to fill a blank in my mind. However, my first thought quickly fell to ruins as I saw a small Barn Owl on my bed.

It all made sense now! After the laughter therapy, I fell unconscious and I retreated back into my mind to allow myself to set things straight between Kurth, a young Barn Owl, and myself. I didn't take me that long to realize that the young Barn Owl on my bed was probably Kurth. However, every time that I would try to approach him with my hand, he would jump back and he also seemed to wilf every time.

"Don't be afraid, fella. I'm not gonna hurt you," I told Kurth.

For some reason, even if I wasn't speaking in Hoolian, Kurth seemed to have understood what I told him perfectly but I still wasn't sure as to if that was the case. I became sure when Kurth slowly began to approach me even though he still looked scared of me. He didn't get too close but he was still about two feet away away from me.

"Why should I trust you? What are you? Where are we?"

"Whoa! Hold on with the relentless questions, pal. I ain't some computer, ya know!" I let out, making Kurth wilf even more.

"I'm sorry..." He said in fear. "... but could you tell me what a com-pu-ter is?"

"Oh, right ... well, about that. It's a type of machine that can do what a normal person can't do normally because of the tasks' complexity."

"Where are we anyways? I'm not in St. Aegolius anymore.," Kurth stated.

"You are still on Earth although in a different time, or universe, because humans, or Others as you might know them, live in places like this," I said, gesturing my entire room, however small it was.

"Does that make you one of the Others?"

"Indeed, I am, and to return to the question of trust, you alone decide whether to trust me or not, but I'll let you on the fact that I was the one who helped you back in St. Aggie's," I told Kurth.

"This can't be! I am an owl and you are one of the Others. As you said, we aren't supposed to exist along each other!" Kurth let out hotly.

"Maybe we aren't from the same time but for some strange reasons, our minds have been placed in the same body. I'm still trying to figure out how this has come to be," I said as I resumed reading the first book of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole.

At that moment, I felt Kurth move on my bed and a few minutes later, he asked what my book was by pointing it with one of his foot. I just told him that it was a book that told the story of four owls that go through many challenges in order to change things in the owl kingdoms they want to protect. When there was a big moment of silence, I found it strange so I dropped my book, making sure to remember the page first, and looked at Kurth, who seemed transfixed by something. When I looked in his eyes, I saw the reflection of my own in them and I understood immediately.

Since he was an owl, and a Barn owl at that, and since humans were supposed to be extinct in the owl kingdoms, he had probably never seen coloured eyes before. Maybe at the exception of Gylfie's and all of those other owl at St. Aggie's.

"In any cases, there is something that has to be done before you wake up," I said, trying to break this sudden silence.

"What is it?" Kurth asked, intrigued.

"We need to join our minds together so that we don't have to be two different minds in the same body."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Kurth asked once more, this time more confused than intrigued.

"We can affect almost every thing in a dream. All we have to do is to believe that our minds can be joined and try our hardest to do it," I explained.

"How do know all that?" Kurth asked, curious about my vast knowledge.

"Probably because I'm a lot older than you are," I replied.

"How old are you? Surely you are not THAT old."

"Are you sure you want to know?" I asked, sighing in defeat after Kurth had nodded. "I'm actually eighteen years old. To put it more simply, I've lived for eighteen years."

This part was a little bit more funny because I saw Kurth's beak open wide in awe. To come a world where humans do not exist do lead to the ignorance of our lifespans and so on. I, myself, knew a bit about owl because of Kathryn Lasky, the author of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole. At first, I though I'd keep the secrets of the books to myself, but when my eyes met with Kurth's gaze, I knew that I had to tell him the truth. It was the gaze of a curious individual or in this case, a curious owl, and I knew better than most people around me what curiosity was. It is a thirst that can never be quenched by time. It could only be quenched by knowledge and right now, Kurth had every right to know about it if he was truly curious about the truth.

"Actually, I lied about this book," I revealed.

"What do you mean?"

"This story is separated into fifteen books and it mostly tell of the adventures of a band of four owls that became Guardians of Ga'Hoole. You should already know two of those four owls as you met them in St. Aegolius."

"Soren and Gylfie?"

"Correct! Two of them are named Soren and Gylfie and as for the two other, they are named Twilight and Digger."

"So, when you refer to Soren and Gylfie, do you refer to the same ones I met back in St. Aggie's?"

"The very same. Another thing is that they escaped St. Aegolius together," I said.

"Escaped. How did they do it?"

"I want to tell you, but there is something stopping me from doing so. Maybe I, myself, am doing this to stop you from escaping yourself with them," I told the Barn Owl.

"Why would you do that? I don't want to stay in St. Aegolius for the rest of my life!" Kurth gasped.

"You won't. Trust me. But maybe your path lies in another way, maybe your path is to see exactly what those owls are up to. By going up higher and higher, you will manage to finally discover the true evil of St. Aegolius," I explained.

"But how can I do it?" Kurth asked, deeply confused about the situation.

"With my help, you'll be able to do it with more ease than if you were attempting to do it alone."

"How can you help me? We don't even live in the same places or time."

"Don't get mistaken! If we can't join forces because of this, then tell me, why are we speaking to each other right now?" I snapped.

"I...I...I don't know," Kurth stammered.

"That's because I was summoned from my own world to the owl kingdoms for a certain task, but since 'Others' such as myself are supposed to be extinct, I was placed in an owl that could accomplish great things with my help. At least, that's my hypothesis," I told him.

"But why me? Why did I get chosen from all the other owls out there?"

"Because I know, deep down in my mind, that you are meant for great things. Maybe you didn't realize yet but with my knowledge and your help, we may be able to find out what the owls of St. Aegolius are planning," I spoke.

"How can you help me achieve that then?" Kurth pressed.

"Surely you must have noticed by now that this is not a real place but one created from the memories of my world. Now, since this is not reality, this means that we can do all sorts of things we cannot do when we are outside the subconscious," I explained.

"What exactly is this subconscious thing?"

"Normally, it is a state of mind when you withdraw into your mind, willingly or not," I said.

"And what do you suggest we do with this knowledge?"

"Before we get to that point, I'll tell you one of the ways I thought about to get out of St. Aggie's."

"And that would be..."

"To climb higher and higher to earn Skench's trust and if possible, to learn how to fly from her. Ironically, Skench is one of the key elements and also the one we're trying to get away from," I told Kurth.

"Still, if another chance presents itself or if we are faced with a situation where we have no choice but to escape, will we take it?" Kurth inquired.

"If we really have no other choices, then yes. Now enough talk, it is time I helped you!"

"And exactly how are you going to help me?"

"I figured a blood oath might do the job," I said.

"Blood ... oath? What's that?"

"It isn't supposed to exist in my world but in this place where limits do not exist, it might just work. The only thing that has to be done is to open a small wound on each other and then make blood gush out of it. Make the first wound on my finger and I'll do yours afterwards," I told him.

At first, he hesitated to agree to my idea, but after a few moments, he finally made a wound on my index finger and strangely, it didn't even hurt one bit. After Kurth made the wound on my index, I then proceeded to make a small wound on Kurth's breast. We both waited for the blood to gush out of our wounds. When I realized that my blood still wasn't gushing, I applied a little pressure on the wound and blood started coming out of it. When I judged that there was enough blood, I released the pressure.

"I swear though this oath that I will protect this young owl with all I have, body and mind."

At the same time, I mixed a one droplet of my blood with one of Kurth's and it fell on the blankets of my bed but instead of being absorbed by the blankets, it just when through it as if they were made of water. After that, I felt my bones starting to rearrange themselves. I quickly realized that I was getting smaller when I that everything in my room was getting bigger. Next thing I noticed was that my arms were wings as I tried to touch my face with my hands. When I looked down at my feet, I saw that I didn't have toes anymore. I now had talons instead of my toes and when I looked at Kurth again, I saw that I was about his size. I also noticed that my body was covered in feathers instead of the human skin I had earlier. And while this process was supposed to be painful, I didn't feel any pain at all, probably due to the fact that I wasn't in a material world.

"Amazing! You became a Barn Owl like me!" Kurth exclaimed.

"Yes, I did, but that now means that our minds are now one. That means that our knowledge is the same, our thoughts as well and that whatever one of us is thinking, the other will think it as well. We are now one," I explained.

"Was this necessary? I mean, the unison of our minds?" Kurth asked.

"For your own good, I think it was. While you may be a worthy owl, you are still far too naive about the world. You need someone who is able to fight cunning with cunning and although I am mostly diplomatic, I will fight if forced to," I explained.

"If you are diplomatic, why would you ever fight anyway?"

"I would fight for my survival or if someone I hold dear is threatened. However, I will never fight for reasons such as a jealousy. In all the other cases, I prefer to let my beak do the talking."

"If so, I guess it is good to have you by my side because I think my relentless questions might get me into deep trouble," Kurth stated.

Indeed, it will. Now, let us go back to the real world now," I said before my vision blurred more and more.

—

"... Look, look! He's waking up!" An owl that was close to me said.

"Oh, dear! Look at yourself, 15-7. We'll have to get more disciplined from now on," said Finny, whose voice I could recall anywhere.

"What happened?" I grunted.

"Now, now, Questions are what got you and 12-1 into trouble."

In my mind, I was trying to reconstruct the events of what happened during that '_laughter therapy_'. First, there was the question alarm after me and Soren had asked about the flecks. After that, Skench and Spoorn landed next to me and Soren with that ferocious look in their eyes. In my mind still played the sound of the laughter, but something else was amidst. My wings hurt and yet, I didn't know why. That was until I turned my head on my sides only to discover that a part of my wings were bare and so were Soren's when I looked at him while he was still unconscious.

"Great Glaux!" I let out, surprised of the state in which my wings were.

"Now, now, dear. Don't worry, Nursey is going to take care of your wings and you'll feel better in no time," Finny said.

_Nursey, what a stupid excuse for a name_! I burst out inside.

Yes, it may have been a stupid name but Finny lived up to that silly name of hers. I didn't know what she used but after she was done, my wings already felt better although the sight of my featherless wings still disturbed me.

"Thank you ... Auntie."

Those words alone were enough to make me want to yarp and even then, I still forced myself to call that witch of an owl '_Auntie_'. I didn't even know however those words got out of my beak but deep inside, I knew that this was the best way to achieve my escape plan. I had thought about it deeply and it was a very good plan. My idea was to manage to gain Skench's, the Ablah General of St. Aegolius, trust to learn about her true intentions and plans for the owl kingdoms.

However, the more I planned, the more I knew that Soren and Gylfie had to escape before me. I knew that those two wanted to get out of the canyons and because I deeply wanted to get to the bottom of this, I decided that I would have to act as if I were completely moon blinked even to them for my plan to work without any problems.

"15-7! Please pay attention when I speak," Finny told me as she passed one of her foot right in front of my eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I shall pay heed from now on."

"That's better. Now, as I was saying, you don't need those silly feather of yours."

What in the name of Glaux was this owl talking about! Weren't our feathers necessary for flight? Were our wings so unimportant to that owl? I knew for one thing that I needed those feathers of mine and their use would be to allow me to escape from St. Aggie's. There was no way that I'd stay in those canyons for the rest of my life. Whatever happened, I'd die before falling under the influence of those stupid owls. Maybe I looked like an ordinary Barn Owl on the exterior but on the inside, I had something no other owl had; the mind of an '_Other_'.

That detail would prove to be in my advantage because my mind could fight those owls at the own game. This would prove to be cunning against cunning and only the smarter one would get away with murder. Nonetheless, I didn't say anything at all after that last comment Finny, or Nursey as she wanted to be called, said to me. I knew that if I did reply, I'd end up in even more trouble that I could chew on. I just let her do her job as she put something that resembled some kind of moss on my wings and it actually felt very nice once it was on my wings.

"Nice feeling, yes it is. There's nothing like this stone moss for curing whatever pains you. Now, dear, you can call me Nursey from now on."

As if I'd actually do it! But still, what choice did I have in the matter. I had to call her Nursey or I'd get into even more trouble. And so I called her Nursey to play into her little game because if I truly wanted to escape, I had to gain her trust first. With that, I would have captured the first bishop on the board.

"Nursey...," I whispered slowly in an almost inaudible voice.

"Yes, dear. You're learning really fast. It's true that sometimes we have to be a little stricter but I'm sure that from now on, you'll remember the lessons and never get plucked again," Finny replied as she heard my whisper, surprisingly.

"Plucked ... I was right, then. Those owls did pluck me after that question alarm."

"You don't seem all that surprised, dear. Well, the shock of hearing the truth must be very great for you if you remain like that. Nonetheless, I don't really approve with their methods but since my words don't have such an importance, I can only try to do my best for every little in my pit."

"One more thing, though. I don't quite understand why you act so kindly while those other owls treat us like racdrops," I said.

Upon hearing that last word, Finny almost collapses because of the shock she had experienced. This word, racdrops, was considered a curse word among owls and well, I had just said it. She was about to scold me about saying that such words were not to be spoken, but it almost seemed like she was refraining herself from doing so as she peered into my eyes. To trick her even more, I made the face of an innocent owlet just so she would think that I had hear that word from another owl in St. Aegolius. And to my surprise, it worked pretty well. Instead of scolding me, Finny kept her calm and explained to me calmly that the word racdrops wasn't a very nice thing to say.

"In any case, there is a reason for those owls to act like that," Finny told me.

"There's actually a reason...," I didn't make this phrase into a question so I wouldn't have to endure Finny wrath as well ans all those other owls' wrath.

"Yes. It's because it builds character. Here in St. Aegolius, we make you owlets into hardy owls through carefully meted-out punishment and self-denial."

"I see. So, destroying wings helps us build our character," I said in a near mechanical voice. "and to think that I always thought that flying was a natural part of an owl's life. How immature of me."

"You really are a bright little thing. Flying here is a privilege that only those who are destined to fly can earn," Finny hooted cheerfully.

"Yes, of course. I'm starting to understand." Once more, I made use of that near mechanical voice again.

"Yes, yes, of course. Now, dear, you still need to rest and I have to attend to 12-1, so I'll ask you to leave us. You can take that niche where no one will see you if you want," Finny suggested to me.

I thanked for the kind offer and quickly hopped over to that stone niche and to my surprise, it was my size perfectly. I didn't know for how long I had slept but when I woke up, I saw that Hortense, or 12-8 was trying to wake up Finny, who seemed to unconscious. Soren was next to them and he said something that I wasn't able to hear even with my keen hearing since I was a little far way from him. I read his beak instead and I discovered that he had said something about the Legends of Ga'Hoole.

At first, I completely denied their existence but in doing so, I came to learn that believing in something wasn't always bad for us. Sometimes, it gave us hope. Still, at that moment, the only thing that gave me hope was the thought of learning to fly in order to fly as far away as I could from St. Aggie's. It was the only thing I craved for and I vowed to myself that I wouldn't die before I had accomplished this goal of mine.

Anyway, I looked down and I saw that I was quite high from the ground where Soren was and I wondered how I had gotten so high. I learned it a few moments later when I remembered that my mum and da, whoever they were, made me go through every ceremony except for the First Flight ceremony, so climbing that high didn't really know prove to be a difficulty as I had already gone through the First Branching ceremony. Flying without my feather was another problem that would have to be taken care of in due time, though.

Well, my feathers weren't that bad. Skench and Spoorn had mostly plucked my downs as my primaries and secondaries were still present in great numbers. How I knew that was unknown to me but I preferred to call it instincts although I had a glimpse of my mum and da explaining to me what feathers were the most important. Even though most of my feathers remained, I would wait until my down would have grown back to make my escape. I didn't exactly know when that would be but I heard Gylfie say to Soren that his downs would be back when the next newing of the moon would come. That meant that I would have to act perfectly moon blinked until then.

The first thing that I needed was to find a more elaborate way to escape the moon blinking. Something other than just repeating our numbers instead of our names. An idea popped into my head at that moment and I found it rather good. I still remembered the name I had back in the human world and since I like the name of this owlet as it was the same name as the main character I had created in my first fan fiction. In the end, I used that old name for the sleep march because I wanted to get rid of it since it would be a nuisance to actually let it be known that I was an 'Other' in an owl's body. And so, I decided that for that very reason, I would try to unlearn most of the things I had learned in the human world to lower my chances of having this knowledge revealed to any owl. It worked pretty well for most of the time.

As I looked at the moon after I had left Finny's care, I noticed that it would soon begin to become a crescent moon and in a few days, the new moon would come and they wouldn't be able to perform the moon blinking on us anymore. And since the moon's light would get dimmer and dimmer by the days, i figured that it would make it easier for me to hide in the shadows and avoid detection when I would try to sneak away from some things I had to deal with.

Still, I would try to gain as much praise as I could to catch the attention of Skench. If I ever caught her attention and if I proved my worth to her, then I would have captured the king on the board. And with the king captured, it would result in a checkmate and I would have my escape route right in front of me since I don't really think Skench is bright enough to suspect an owl she trusted.

Anyhow, for the time being, I subtly roamed through the shadows and listened to Soren and Gylfie's discoveries every time they were together. At first, they were mainly talking about how they would escape together and that Gylfie would wait until Soren's down would grow back. It's after that that it began getting more interesting. I learned that while Soren and I were out because of the laughter therapy, Gylfie had found an area called the Big Crack after running an errand for 47-2.

After listening to her, I discovered that there were many cracks that separated themselves from the main crack and it was through some of those smaller cracks that the sky could be seen as Gylfie added. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea if I went there to investigate on the many cracks where the sky could be seen. In any case, I also learned from them that it was possible to avoid detection if we pretended to march during the sleep march.

With that much information in my mind, I quickly disappeared from everyone's sight and towards that area called the Big Crack. I still remained in the shadows to avoid getting seen by any other owls. I didn't exactly know where that area was but after listening to Gylfie's description of it, I knew how it looked and that was all I needed to successfully find it. And I did find it, without any kind of problems. Still, I made sure I was unseeable and once that that was out of the way, I made my way into the Big Crack when I was sure that no one was looking at my way.

From what I had heard from Gylfie earlier, there were owlets inside the Big Crack so that meant that every time I would hear the sound of talons walking on the hard rock, I would have to hide in a nearby crack to avoid being seen in a place that I didn't belong and to make it worse, I didn't even have any clearance of the sort to be in there. While I was investigating the place, I found one such crack that Gylfie talked about. There was a soft breeze that from that crack and just like my friend's explanation, the sky could be seen from the crack I was in front of even if it was quite small for my size.

Now that I knew that an escape could be found in this Big Crack, I made my way back into my pit before the other owls would notice my absence and start searching for me throughout the canyons called St. Aegolius. However, on my way back, I found a crack where an older owl was and strangely, he looked familiar somehow. It then clicked in my mind that this was the same owl that had snatched away Gylfie. If I remembered correctly, his name was Grimble.

I thought the place he was in was a warehouse but through a conversation he had with another owl, I learned that this was not a warehouse. It was instead some sort of library. They stored flecks, these little metallic shards that first-degree pickers were searching for in certain pellets. When the owl that talked to Grimble had gone away, he resumed whatever he was doing. I remained there for quite a while until his gaze met mine while I was spying him. He blinked and it didn't look like the blink of a moon blinked owl. It seemed normal, at least my definition of what normal was, and it looked like he was looking directly at me.

I wondered if I had been discovered by Grimble and for a moment, I thought that he would go report me immediately but to my great surprise, he turned around and resumed whatever he was doing as if he hadn't seen a thing. Taken by fear of being discovered as an owl that wasn't moon blinked, I quickly made my way back to the pit I belonged to in hope that no one had noticed my long absence. Once I was back there, I was glad to learn that no one had noticed that I was gone for quite a time and hopefully, the sleep march that would begin in a few moments would make them lose whatever suspicion they had of me, if they had some.

When the sun rose up the next day, I was approached by Finny and I was told that I had been made into a second-degree picker since my hard work had been claimed as excellent. She also told me that if I continued working with such perfection, I would soon receive my specialness ceremony. On the same day, I was approached by Grimble and he told me that he had to talk to me. Playing my role, I told him that it was very imperfect of me to leave my post in a way such as this. To easily counter this, he added that he had clearance to meet me in such a way.

Knowing that arguing was now futile, I complied to his request and followed him to the library. Once he made sure that we were truly alone, he became really serious, as if his life depended on what I would say.

"You're not moon blinked, are ... you?" I asked Grimble.

"I do not know of what you talk about," Grimble mustered, trying to remain as calm as he could and at the same, hide his surprise at the fact that I had just asked a question. "and worst of all, you even dare to ask a question in front of me."

"I would dare say them because it is the privilege of un-moon-blinked owls. And you are the same as I, an owl that resisted the moon blinking."

"Whhhh-what?"

"You want to know how I know that. Simple enough; I saw you in the library yesterday through one of the many cracks of the Big Crack and I'm sure that you saw me too at that time."

"You are right, I did see you looking at me in the Big Crack and yet, something in you is so powerful, so frightening that I didn't think that reporting you would be my wisest decision up until now," Grimble explained to me.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" I asked.

"I mean to say that you aren't an owlet like all of the others. You appear much older than most of them," Grimble said.

That was a little strange to hear. Although I didn't know what to believe in anymore since I didn't remember my mum and da but I still had hope to find them eventually. I also ignored the time when I had hatched and I didn't even remember my hollow or any siblings I might ever have had. This was almost like a case of amnesia and yet, I hadn't heard of anything like it in the owl world as of now. Still, there was something true in Grimble's word.

I remember that when I looked at Soren, it felt as if he was slightly smaller than me and although we were of the same species, it now hinted me towards the fact that I might be older than most of the owlets in St. Aegolius.

"What does that have to do with the situation we're in right now. I find it agonizing to see those poor owlets in such a state and I think of that the moon blinking is a fate far worse than even death," I spoke.

"You're not entirely right nor are you completely wrong," Grimble told me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly lost in what he had just told me.

"It is true that it is saddening that see those owlets like this but let me assure you that the life I am living right now is far worse than death."

"How come?"

"Once, I was like you, determined to resist the moon blinking. I came here after Skench and Spoorn convince me to join them after a cousin of Jatt and Jutt, Ork was his name, tried to snatch away one of my chicks. He had tried to snatch away Bess, my favourite, and well, I killed him."

"Let me guess; Skench and Spoorn saw this and then convinced you to join their cause by praising you with your fighting skills," I said.

"Pretty much. You are smart, young'un."

"Thanks you but praise isn't going to help me get out of here, though. In fact, I don't want to escape just now..."

"Why? Do you want to become like?" Grimble exclaimed. "An owl that not even his mate nor his chicks can recognize."

"That isn't what I seek but I have to learn more about this place. About Skench and Spoorn's true intentions."

"Well, that easy! What they want is total control over the owl kingdoms through the process of moon blinking on the owls that make up our world," Grimble explained.

"That might be the case but I have to see it with my own two eyes. I must see what they are doing and what they are planning, no matter the cost," I replied.

"Since there seems to be no hope of convincing you of the contrary, I guess I'll leave you to your madness."

My madness, as Grimble called it, was instead a well concocted plan that would allow me to get away from St. Aggie's and at the same time, to discover a bit more about about Skench and Spoorn's intention. That was all I required but before I could make my escape, I'd need to fly and my gizzard gave a small lurch at the thought of flying through those canyons. In fact, it seemed to stir at the mere thought of actual flight. Maybe I had learned to fly with my mum and da but something must have had happened to me that now caused me to be scared of flying.

Nonetheless, this was a fear I had to fight with everything I had if I ever wanted to get away. Still, when I would have decided to learn to fly, I would know who to seek and, along with a little friend called cunning, I should be able to get my way around it. Anyhow, time was running and the night had still a long time before it would shroud the world in its darkness. I had to my duties to complete as a second-degree picker and I well intended to fulfil them to prove myself as a worthy owl and if I was lucky, to earn Skench's trust.

I kept working continuously for the rest of the day until the night came and from there, I decided that I'd listen to what Soren and Gylfie had to say between themselves. During the sleep march, they whispered to each other and from what I could hear thanks to the keen hearing so familiar with every Barn Owls, I found that they were planning on paying Grimble a visit as well as to uncover the truth concerning 12-8, or Hortense, whom they suspected of being an un-moon-blinked owl.

From the way she acted on the rare times I saw her, she seemed to be a perfectly moon blinked but after Gylfie's story in the eggorium where she saw Hortense giving eggs to an eagle that brought them somewhere safe, I also started to have my doubts on her credibility as a moon blinked owl. The two of them decided that they would wait for their visit to talk to Grimble since he was currently away. Somewhere I didn't know about. Before going to the eggorium together, the two of them were caught by Skench when they were pretending to march and so, they were brought to a place they performed the moon scalding, a process that was much like the moon blinking.

However, its effects were far more brutal since it seemed that when they got out before the rays of the sun began to appear, they were totally moon blinked but deep in my gizzard, there was a twinge that believe in the contrary. Even though I hadn't been to that place, my gizzard already twisted just by the mere thought of the horror of the moon scalding. After all those things that I had heard and seen, I knew that the king of the game had to be captured, and quickly that is.

Over the following days, I thought about several ways to work my way around my plan and the one that sounded the best was one that would, however, make me consider myself as a false friend. If I were to turn in Hortense, I might get some credit and trust but on the other hand, they would come to suspect me of having something to do with it. In any case, I decided to talk to Finny about it once First Light installed itself.

"Auntie," I called out to Finny. "there is something I wish to report that might be of your concern."

"Oh, yes. Then tell me what it is, dear," Finny replied.

"It has come to me that 12-8 has been helping eagles get some eggs out of the hatchery."

"What! This is outrageous! If that is indeed the case, you must be sure that this information of yours is true."

"It is!" I quickly replied. "I've heard from owls in the eggorium. It seems that they were required to inquire about 12-8's situation and that once they were on the top where she is, they saw her giving eggs to an eagle."

"As much as this is outrageous, surely those owls would have notified a pit guardian or a monitor about this ... this outrage!"

"Maybe they thought that if they told it to you, Unk or a monitor, they would get suspected of being part of this outrage," I explained.

"This could explain why I haven't heard of anything of the sort. You are a bright little owlet, 15-7."

"I only do my best to be perfect for my masters' demands."

"Look at you, now. You are an example others should look upon as a model owl of St. Aegolius. It would seem that my lessons have been passed onto you," cooed Finny.

"Yes ... your lessons. I remember them as if it were yesterday."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll have to go report this to Skench so we can deal with this properly."

Over the days that followed this event, I heard nothing from Soren and Gylfie and all I could notice on their face was a never-ending grief. Every time that I would glance towards them, they noticed it quickly and stopped talking completely. It was when they were no monitors around that I heard them talking about how they would honour Hortense's courage by escaping. I thought about the meaning of what they had said for quite a while until it suddenly clicked. What they meant was that they would honour Hortense's death by getting out of these Glaux-forsaken canyons.

Then, that because of me, she had been killed by an owl that was quite high in rank. In fact, I think there could only be Skench, Spoorn or Finny since they were the only ones who knew about Hortense because of me. That would also explain why Finny had not yet and that another owl had taken her place for that instance. Then that meant that because of me, Hortense had died. She had perished because of my petty needs for survival. I thought about about that for almost a whole week and I just couldn't accept for condemning an innocent owl who only wanted to help the owl kingdoms by acting like this.

And now, I had to bear the fact that I had killed her indirectly because I simply wanted to learn the truth about St. Aggie's My mind remained blank for a while, unable to forget about Gylfie's words and how I could have saved Hortense. My conscience wasn't really sane and I even had trouble working correctly at the pelletorium. Days later, the new pit guardian, a Great Horned like Skench named Threka, came to announce me that I had been made into a first-degree picker but all of this didn't matter anymore.

All I could ever think about was that I had taken the life of a courageous who did not deserve to die. However, on one of my first days of work as a first-degree picker, I decided on what I would do from there. I finally decided that until they would manage to escape, I'd do everything I could to help Soren and Gylfie get out of the canyons. I decided to do so after I learned of the methods those crazy owls used to relieve owls of their stirrings of flight.

Because they used vampire bats to suck blood from the owls' bloodstreams, I figured that this influenced their feather and wings in a certain way and it refrained them from flying at all. If they were to escape at all, Soren and Gylfie would have to do so before the time for them to be relieved would come. Hopefully, I thought that I could escape this method with some kind of luck.

I found that being a first-degree picker wasn't exactly easy. Those flecks had a really bad effect on my body. Every time that I returned to my pit, I had trouble orienting myself, as if the flecks were causing it. I was also praised as one of the best pickers even if I was still at a young age. After a week went by, I noticed that Soren and Gylfie were searching for Gimble but since he was absent at that moment, they had to wait and hope that nothing would go wrong until he came back.

Finally, when he came back, Soren and Gylfie developed a plan in which they'd go see and that if he didn't sound an alarm, something he wouldn't do since he had not sounded an alarm after our little conversation in the library, they would ask him to teach them how to fly. Once they decided to go meet with him, I followed them in the shadows, making sure that no one and more importantly Soren and Gylfie didn't spot me. Once I made sure that I could follow them without any risks of detection, I did so and once they began their conversation, I eavesdropped on them.

It was then that I noticed that Gylfie was quite brave. In fact, after Hortense, she was the bravest owl I had seen on my stay at St. Aegolius. I made my appearance after Grimble told his story and after Soren had asked Grimble to teach them how to fly.

"But you know, Soren, and you know, Gylfie, that you cannot learn to fly if you don't truly be..."

"Yes, we know Grimble. If you don't truly that you can fly, you never will be able to do so. However, the three of us are determined to learn how to fly and our wish is the same; escape from here," I told Grimble.

Both Soren and Gylfie blinked at me and to be frank, I wouldn't blame them. They had thought that I was a perfectly moon blinked owl and Soren had heard Finny praise me several time, boasting about how other owlets should see me as a model. Grimble, too, was surprised to see me there instead of being at my post in the pelletorium. Still, to help Soren and Gylfie get out of St. Aegolius was the best way I could find to redeem myself to Hortense. I thought that it would help her scroom reach glaumora safely.

Anyhow, if it hadn't been for my intervention, I don't think that they would have been as successful as they had been with me. So, Grimble finally complied to our demand and he decided that he would begin teaching us the day that would follow. He obtained special pass which would allow us to help him in the library. He had decided to make us learned there because it was high enough for us to practice flying correctly.

—

"More flap, deeper flap, Soren! Your wings must almost meet on the upstroke of your flap. You too, Gylfie! Look at Kurth, he's ready to fly anytime now."

"Look at his size, Grimble. He's even bigger than me," Soren complained.

_And probably older than you are_. I thought.

"Size does not have anything to do with flying. You need to believe you can do it and with this belief, you must want to fly."

"We know that but this is exhausting!" Gylfie remarked.

"You do not have much time and so, you must learn to fly as quickly as possible," Grimble replied.

Gylfie was right, though. Learning was really exhausting ans although I was ready to fly after a few practices, unlike Soren and Gylfie, my wings felt sore. With my wings in that state, I don't think that I could have flown that night. When First Light began to take the night's place, Soren and Gylfie returned to their posts in the eggorium and just as I was able to return to the pelletorium, Grimble told me to wait a little. I wondered what it was he wanted from me.

"So, what do you want from me, Grimble?" I asked him.

"I have something to ask of you, Kurth."

"Whatever you need," I replied.

"Soon, the thermal winds will come and it will be an ideal night to make an escape," Grimble told me.

"Where's the problem in this?"

"I know that you don't want to make your exit just yet but Soren and Gylfie must leave. You saw how well they did tonight. They are ready! However, they don't believe that they are ready yet."

"Where are you getting at?" I asked, tired of his descriptions for answers.

"I tire of this life of mine and even if I did escape, I'd have nowhere to go to. So, I want you to inform Skench about what I'm doing to help Soren and Gylfie."

"I get it now! By having me inform Skench about this, she'll come with the intention to kill the three of you and this will force Soren and Gylfie to make their way out of here."

"You catch on fast, young owl," Grimble complimented me.

"But why do you want me to do that? Even if I did it, I'll have to bear with your death. I won't be able to live with myself after that. I'm sorry, Grimble, but I just don't want to repeat the same mistake as before with 12-8."

"I heard of it. She tried saving all those eggs on her own and she died doing what she thought was right."

"You just don't get it, Grimble! I'm the one who reported her to Finny and because of that, I cause her death! I sacrificed the life of one of the bravest owl I had ever seen just to satisfy my own desires for survival!" I screeched, bursting into tears.

"All right, then. If you won't do it for me, do the task I have asked of you for Soren and Gylfie! They believe in the Legends of Ga'Hoole and with those gizzards of theirs, I feel it deep down in my own gizzard that they'll find the Guardians. If you believe in them, it's the least you could do for them after the grief you caused them!"

Grimble was right. After what I did to them through the death of Hortense, which I had caused, helping them escape, whatever the method should be the least I could do. Still, even if I felt it deep down in my gizzard that this was a very good thing to do, I felt that if I did do Grimble's task, I'd feel regret for a long time. However, his remark did it a raw never. A few weeks earlier, I swore to myself that I'd do anything at all to help those two escape before I did.

In the end, I agreed to his request and I planned to report him directly to Skench on the night when the thermal winds would allow a great opportunity to make an escape. I still had to be strong because taking the life of Grimble through Skench could prove to be extremely nerve-racking, even disheartening. I could have refused Grimble's request but if I did so, I felt that I would be dishonouring Grimble and Hortense's sacrifices and those two courageous owls' resolve.

Going against that was certainly not in my plan and so, I did not really have a saying in the matter. When the thermals came, I went to see Threka and I informed him that I needed to speak to Skench about an important matter.

"You will have to tell me about that matter, though. Surely you must be aware of this, 15-7," Threka remarked.

"No can do! My message must reach Skench and Skench only," I easily replied.

"I could lead you to Skench but only I'd only do so if you give me a hint about that important matter of yours, 15-7."

_By Glaux! Just bring me to Skench already!_ I raged inside.

"If that is your wish. This concerns the possibility of having a traitor among us," I told Threka.

I knew that I had caught his attention just by looking at his eyes. The look he had on face showed a lot of surprise and at the same time, he was trying to appear as being serious.

"If that is the case, then follow me!"

Good! Now, the first part of Grimble's plan had been accomplished. All that was left was to report him to Skench to make her kill him, thus forcing Soren and Gylfie to make their escape. As I followed Threka through the canyons, I began to wonder how would Skench react to what I had to say about Grimble. Well, I didn't have any time to think since Threka announced that Skench could be approached.

"What is it this time, Threka?" Skench inquired, abruptly.

"15-7 here says that he has information about a possible traitor among us."

"I hope for you that you aren't lying to us, 15-7, or you will have to face the consequences that come with such acts," Skench told me.

"It is not in my advantage to lie to my master and for those information, I can assure that they are true as I saw Grimble teaching two owlets how to fly. I believe it was a Barn Owl and an Elf Owl," I said.

"By Glaux! If this is indeed true, you will be rewarded greatly, 15-7! I have heard of you previous achievements. To be one of the youngest first-degree picker is worth of much praise. Also, to have reported a traitorous owl such as 12-8 has sparked my attention. If Grimble does indeed turn out to be a traitor, you shall receive your specialness ceremony soon. Very Soon."

"I am only doing my best to please my master at the best of my abilities."

"Come then, I shall prepare for battle and I want you to tell me where you last saw those three owls," Skench told me.

"It is as my master wishes."

I followed her into the war inventory or whatever they called it in St. Aegolius and once we were there, Skench told me to wait for her while she was preparing herself fro an upcoming battle. Once she was in he full battle regalia, she ordered me to guide her to the place Grimble was helping the tow owlets, which was in fact the library. When we arrived at the entrance of the library, Skench told me to wait there and watch how an owl fights.

As she entered the library, I didn't hear her say anything to Grimble. She just unlocked her battle claws and she was about to go for Soren and Gylfie but before she could do anything to them, she was slammed into a wall. Strangely, I remembered Grimble telling something about flecks being stored in the library. That's when it clicked! The flecks had magnetic properties and from what I knew about magnetics, metal was easily attracted to things that emitted high magnetic properties. And since Skench's full battle regalia was made out of metal, the flecks attracted her equipment, thus resulting in her getting slammed into one of the library's wall.

When that happened, I clearly heard Grimble telling Soren and Gylfie to fly away. After those two had made their way out of St. Aggie's, I looked at Grimble and I was surprised to see him looking right at me. If I had been him, I would've been more concerned about Skench but as he looked at me, I saw that he blinked and then, I thought I saw him say thank you, although in a silent manner. Soon, Skench had recovered from the flecks' effect on her equipment and she seemed even more ferocious than she did before.

She launched herself at Grimble and plummeted him to the floor but before she finished him off, I looked away, still too fragile to really look at the scene. It wasn't until I heard the clicking sound of battle claws on the ground that I looked once more towards Skench and from there, I saw one of most gruesome scene ever. The floor under Grimble was covered in blood and when I began approaching Skench, I saw that Grimble's head was in a weird angle. The more I looked at him, the more I came to think that Skench had broken his neck.

When Skench turned around to face me, I was truly utterly disgusted. Her battle claws were soaked in blood and many droplets of blood stained her plumage. I still had a diplomatic character so these kind of scenes weren't exactly the most favourite I'd want to see. Anyway, when Skench walked away, she told me that she would meet me during the first night of the full shine, which happened to be tomorrow night.

On the night of the full shine, I went to see Skench, alone. Once there, I was surprised to see her second-in-command, Spoorn, there too. I didn't take very long to remember the promise Skench had made to me about earning my specialness ceremony. I knew that it would have been soon but never would I have though that it would be this soon. However, I knew that there had to be a reason behind all that haste and I supposed that it was because they had to find an owl to replace Grimble now. If that was the case, I would be extremely surprised if they decided to choose me over another owl that had more experience than I did.

"Ah, you have come, 15-7," Spoorn began.

"It would not be in my advantage to turn down one of the request from the Ablah General," I easily replied.

"Good point," Spoorn conceded.

"Apart from that, I have promised you a great reward and it is a great reward you shall receive. Tonight, you will receive you specialness ceremony and long with it, your new name," Skench stated.

"A question for enlightenment might be necessary in the current moment."

"You may ask it," Spoorn replied.

"Will I get assigned to another post or will I stay as a first-degree picker in the pelletorium?"

"You will take Grimble's post after his most tragic death but before you take the post itself, we will have to make you go through your specialness ceremony," Skench answered.

"Does that answer your question, 15-7?" Spoorn asked me in a rather raspy voice.

I only nodded in agreement and from there, I went through my specialness. That ceremony meant that a worthy owl gets to be promoted to a higher rank and to be assigned to different posts such as being a pit guardian, a sleep monitor or a supervisor. For example, Finny Jatt, Jutt, Threka and Grimble were all owls that had received their specialness rank and now, I had become one such owl.

Once the ceremony was over, they gave me my new name and they also told me that we would again next night to practice flight if I were to become Grimble's replacement. What a mistake those idiot excuses for owls had just committed! Now that I knew about Skench's true intention thanks to Grimble, I could finally make my exit. And since Skench and Spoorn both trusted me because of the help I gave them by betraying Hortense and fulfilling Grimble's final wish, that practice was the perfect opportunity to get away from those owls for they were yoicks to the highest point possible.

After I finished my last day as a first-degree picker, I skipped the sleep march under the orders of Skench and I went directly to the library. I hesitated a bit before entering, partly because I was scared to find Grimble's dead body still there but I was eased when I saw that they got rid of the body. On the other hand, I wondered a bit about what they had done to his body to get rid of it. Anyway, it would the night where all of my deceit would finally pay off. It would also be the night where I would truly honour Grimble's final wish.

"Tonight's the big night." This hadn't been a question but rather a statement.

"Yes. It is tonight that you will learn to fly, Kurth," Skench replied.

Fools! Not only did I already learn to fly but the name they had given me was the same as my real one. Skench showed me her way of teaching other owls how to fly and seriously, she needed some refinement. I simply mimicked what she was doing and I acted as if I had no experience at all. All I wanted was for her to tell me to try it alone. Still, each time that I would practice a specific lesson, I would try to get closer and closer to the edge and surprisingly enough, it worked. Skench and Spoorn didn't even notice that I was preparing my escape.

It took me several hours to finally have those two's attention away from me. That little instant where I would be left unattended would prove to be my trump card. At first, I thought that I wouldn't have time and that they would turn the attention on me once again but all of that changed when an owl cam in the library to report something to the two commanding owls. At that moment, I knew that this would prove to be the perfect timing that could've happened during my lessons about flight.

Since I was so close to the edge that separated the library from the canyons, I took a few steps back and then I took my speed and leaped down towards the ground. I didn't really wait to open my wings and once I did, I immediately began flapping them in order to stay balanced and most essentially, to keep flying. However good freedom felt, I didn't keep that wondrous feeling for very long. A few minutes after I had flown away from the library, I looked back and saw Skench and Spoorn following me.

In their eyes, I could see a fiery rage and something told me that I was the cause of it. Still, before they could capture me, I dove down towards the stony floor in hopes of losing them. They seemed to be really persistent as they even followed in my dive. Just thinking about returning to St. Aegolius made my gizzard twist in a most painful way. I could not fail at this, I couldn't afford so and most of all, I had to escape even if I had to fight my way through.

As I watched around me to find to find something to help me, I took noticed of how the stone ledge right in front of me could help me. I came up with a well thought plan and to begin it, I continued my time but once I judged that the moment was right, I executed a corkscrew while rising at the same time. I was so close to the ledge that I thought that if I missed this plan, I'd end up dead. After continuous efforts to keep going up, I was finally above the the canyons and when I looked back to see if Skench and Spoorn were still following me, I saw that they were returning to St. Aegolius as if they had giving up catching to me after that little trick I performed.

At last! I could finally smell the sweet smell of freedom and victory. Deep down, though, I wanted to go find Soren and Gylfie but first, I had to go and find my mum and da, if they were still alive. All I could do was to hope...

—

**Well, chapter 3 has come to a close and while I know that this has been one long chapter, I don't think I'm gonna do another one of these in a long time. In any case, I think I have just done what no one has ever did with a story in this section. I went into a deeper part of the story to explain how certain characters died, in my point of view. Once again, you will have to wait until I finish chapter 5 before I write down my fourth one. Also, take note that beginning from July 4th, I will be out for the entire summer time as I need to work somewhere where I don't have my beloved computer. Anyway, I'll leave you guys on the note that next chapter will have a song included in it.**


	4. First Flight Experience

**This i****s chapter 4, folks, and I hope that I'll have time to update the fight one along with as I finished it Friday. I know that normally, I say that I update a chapter once I finish writing up the next one in my notebooks but I think I'll do an exception just this once as a gift for you readers as I will be absent for the summer time, starting from July 4th until late August. Well, anyhow, let's get this chapter done, now!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT in any case own any of the original plot of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole nor do I own Lasky's original characters. Those are owned by their rightful owners. I only own the plot of this fan fiction, Kurth, Threka and Serenade.**

**I also do not own the song included in this chapter.  
>It belong to their rightful band:<br>Simple Plan**

**—**

**Chapter 4: First Flight Experience**

I didn't know for how long I had flown exactly but my wings felt so sore that I didn't know if I could keep on flying for very long. I had given myself a quest after leaving St. Aegolius and that was to find my mum and da before I could go find Soren and Gylfie at the place where they'd be if I remembered the legends they kept talking about in St. Aggie's: the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.

Anyhow, I knew I had flown for a while but I knew that I still hadn't flown for a whole moon cycle yet. Not if I looked at the moon. It was at the middle of it's cycle as the new moon was nearly visible. Just a few more days and that would mean that I had travelled for about half a month. If I were to find my parents, however, I would have to remember exactly the last time I ever had memories of them and for now, I didn't have any.

I was so rash and desperate to just find something that might remind of a memory of them that I even flew when the sun was up, which wasn't exactly an habit that owls had. Normally, owls do not fly when when the sun is up because they can get mobbed by crows but in my current state of my mind, I simply did not care about it. That remained until I was nearly mobbed by those devious crows.

I was flying above great forests I did not know about and everything was sunshine and rainbows until I heard the call so familiar to crows and when I looked around me, I saw a group of eight crows surrounding me. At first, I didn't really care about them and it remained so for a while. Since the winds were not favourable, I could escape them easily if they dared attack when those strong winds were hitting us right in the face.

When the crows realized that those winds weren't going to die down any time soon, they lost their interest in mobbing me and just changed. Still, even if I had just avoided a mobbing, I continued to fly when the sun was up. In fact, I flew almost all the time, night or day, but I still had to find any traces of my parents. However small hope was, if I believed enough, just a little bit, I thought that I could find them. Truth was that I didn't find a single trace of them and I searched as hard as I could. The only thing I thought about that could have been related to them was a strange dream I had.

In that dream, I saw fire everywhere. Owls with battle claws equipped were fighting above me and from what I was able to see, one of the owls was the Great Horned, Skench. It seemed as if she was fighting another group of owls with her own group from St. Aegolius. The other group was, strangely, composed only of Tytos and their leaders seemed to be a male Barn Owl that was quite large while the other was a female Barn Owl that seemed to have the moon in her face.

As I watched them fight one another, I suddenly felt an owl take me in his talons and a few moments later, I could hear the female Barn Owl's screech of sadness as she saw that I had been snatched by one of the owls of St. Aegolius. It suddenly became somewhat clear that two Barn Owls could be my mum and da. I tried to call out to them but my screams never did reach them. Suddenly, I heard a voice calling out to me and it dragged me out of my dream.

"Hey, hey! Wake up, young'un!"

"Who in the name of Glaux! Can't an owl have his sleep nowadays...," I muttered, half asleep.

"If you weren't in my hollow and if you weren't screamin' so loud, I wouldn't have woken you up," The owl replied.

"I was just having a bad dream, that's all."

"Yeah ... if that's a bad dream, I wouldn't want to see you having a nightmare."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Asking a question just felt like a relievement. Since I had been used to the way of St. Aegolius, where no question were allowed, asking one really did prove that I had earned my freedom one and for all and that for the time being, no one could ever take it away from me. But this owl had said that I was in her hollow. This was strange as when I first came into this hollow, it was empty.

"What I mean is that you looked like you dreamt of hagsmire and you just claimed it to be a simple bad dream. I don't consider those to be just bad dreams, they're so much more."

Maybe she was right about this matter. Maybe my dream was more than just the bad dream I claimed it to be but right now, it was the only thing that approached the concept of a memory of my mum and da.

"In any case, what are you doing here? I saw you a few days ago and you seemed to be lost around these parts."

"Truth is, I'm looking for my mum and da and if I look lost, it might be because I'm not used to the forests as I escaped from St. Aegolius recently," I told the silver-coloured owl.

"Did you say you came from St. Aegolius?"

"Yes, I did. In fact, I escaped from there about half a moon cycle ago after helping two of my friends escape from there first," I answered.

"Have you seen a Great Gray named Twilight there, perchance?"

Twilight ... somehow, that named sounded awfully familiar to me and yet, so distant. It was a strange feeling to know an owl without knowing the owl itself. However, I had not me any Great Grey during my stay in those canyons. Still, I wondered what this owl's relations were towards this Twilight and this question was clearly one that required an answer.

"Might I ask why you are so interested in this Twilight?" I inquired.

"He's my brother," the owl replied, hastily.

It made sense now. If she had taken it upon herself to protect her brother, then it made total sense that she would be searching for him if he had disappeared suddenly. However, there were many things that could've happened to Twilight and not all of them were pleasant thoughts. He could have been snatched away by the owls of St. Aggie's like what happened to me or he could have fallen down from his hollow and if that was the case, three possibilities offered themselves to that situation.

The first one was the possibility that a ground predator could have killed him after his fall. The second was was the possibility of him being rescued by the owls of Ga'Hoole and the third one was that he could have survived and learned to fetch for himself all alone. These thought should stay where they were, though. They should just stay there as mere thoughts.

"No, I did not see any Great Grey named Twilight in St. Aggie's," I replied.

"Oh ... is that so?" The owl muttered to herself.

"In any event, might I ask for your name?" I asked the silver-coloured owl in front of me.

"I'm Serenade!" The owl told me. "What's yours?"

_Serenade ... what a lovely name for an owl with such a beautiful voice._

"The name's Kurth and, as you probably already know, I'm searching for my parents. Oh, and by the way, I'm a Barn Owl."

"Obviously," Serenade sighed. "that much I already knew. But do you know where you come from?"

"I think that I came from the the Forest of Tyto but I can't be sure, though," I informed Serenade.

"Great Glaux! You're way off if you are thinking of going into the Forest Kingdom of Tyto!"

"What do you mean? Do you know where we are?" I asked.

"Well, yes. We are in Silverveil and to be honest, the Forest of Tyto is quite far from here."

"Really! How far is it from here?"

"I'd say that if you flew entire nights, you'd reach in maybe ten night," Serenade answered.

"I wonder if I'll find them there, though..."

"Don't worry,. Even if you don't find them, count yourself lucky to be alive. I head that this St. Aegolius bunch aren't very merciful."

Those words went straight to my heart. How dare she say that about brave owls such as Hortense, who fought for what she believe to be right, and poor Grimble. who gave his life for three owls he believed in. And yet, here she was telling that all the owls of St. Aggie's were evil. It was a lie! Only high ranked owls such as Skench, Spoorn, Finny, Jatt, Jutt and Threka could be considered to be truly evil.

Having heard Serenade's comment, I stormed out of the hollow in order to calm all of the anger that was building deep in the depths of my being. Outside, I tried to find a tree that was far from Serenade's hollow. Once I did find such a tree, I perched on a branch that was quite high and suddenly, a song came by my mind and I felt the urge to sing it, strangely.

_I open my eyes  
>I try to see but I'm blinded by the white lights<br>I can't remember how  
>I can't remember why<br>I'm lyin' here tonight_

_And I can't stand the pain  
>And I can't make it go away<br>No, I can't stand the pain_

_How could this happen to me?  
>I've made my mistakes<br>Got nowhere to run  
>The night goes on<br>As I'm fading away  
>I'm sick of this life<br>I just wanna scream  
>How could this happen to me?<em>

_Everybody's screamin'  
>I try to make a sound<br>But no one hears me  
>I'm slippin' off the edge<br>I'm hangin' by a thread  
>I wanna start this over again<em>

_So I try to hold  
>Onto a time when<br>Nothing mattered  
>And I can't explain what happened<br>And I can't erase the things that I've done  
>No I can't<em>

_How could this happen to me?  
>I've made my mistakes<br>Got nowhere to run  
>The night goes on<br>As I'm fading away  
>I'm sick of this life<br>I just wanna scream  
>How could this happen to me?<em>

_I've made my mistakes  
>Got nowhere to run<br>The night goes on  
>As I'm fading away<br>I'm sick of this life  
>I just wanna scream<br>How could this happen to me?_

And with this song died the seed of anger that were so deep in my very being. Instead, it had been replaced by a felling of everlasting grief. Sure, the song reminded me of the things I had done back at St. Aegolius. However, it was best to remember them so I wouldn't repeat them another time.

Just a few minuted after I stopped singing, I felt movement on the branch I was one and as I looked around to see who or what was the cause of these sudden movements, I took notice that it was none other than Serenade. I was just about to leave out of anger but the Great Gray pleaded me to listen to her. I agreed to her pleas but I told her that after she was done talking to me, I would take my leave.

"Listen ... I'm sorry if what I said earlier hurt your feelings but I was just repeating what I had heard from other owls I know."

"..."

"However, after hearing that song of yours, I realized that you must have done some terrible things to those you cared for in St. Aegolius," Serenade spoke softly.

"You have no idea how much it hurts to just think back about it...," I replied, a sole tear rolling down from my right eye,

'I won't force you to tell it to me if you don't want to. It's up to you to decide."

"You already figured out this much so what's the point of keeping you in the shadows any longer," I told Serenade.

"Go on, then."

"Right! As you already know, I've done some things I'm not really proud of and well, one of them was betraying a friend I had there for the sake of my own survival."

"I don't see the problem to it if you just betrayed that friend of yours unless...," Serenade began before she realized what had befallen on that friend of mine. To Hortense. "Great Glaux! No wonder you're feeling so down when you talk about it."

"Yes ... however, it doesn't just end there. After the death of this friend of mine, Hortense was her name, I caused immense grief to two other friends I had. To repay what I did to Hortense, I did everything I could to help them escape and with the help of a Boreal Owl named Grimble, I managed to make them leave St. Aegolius before I, too, took my leave out of there," I explained.

"What happened to this Grimble? Did he die or did he stay?" Serenade inquired.

"He's dead. His death was his final request to me. Worst of all, I had to watch him die right before my eyes."

"Oh ... I'm ... sorry for you loss...," Serenade spoke, sadly.

"Don't worry about that. Though it still pains me to talk about it and to even think about it is worse, I think that by sharing those with you made me come in terms with those mistakes of mine," I stated.

"As much as this conversation is interesting, don't you think it would be safer if we talked about it in my hollow?" Serenade asked me.

"Yeah ... might be a good idea, Serenade," I acknowledged.

"Now, come on! My hollow is big enough for the two of us and if you want, you can stay for as long as you want. I don't get much company nowadays."

I simply nodded and followed her to her hollow. To be frank, I thought that Serenade was a selfish owl but the more we talked, the more I realized that she was actually a very sensitive owl. And although she wasn't there to see Grimble's death, it pained her as well because that day, Skench had rid the world of a most courageous owl. Maybe she did so to comfort the immense sadness that was taking hold of me.

That did not matter since whatever the reasons that drove her to act so it made me feel at peace with myself. Finally, I ended up falling prey to the sleep even before First Light and before I fell asleep, Serenade told me she'd keep watch for a little while.

I woke up later and it was nearly First Black if I judged from the sun's position. Next to em lay Serenade, still asleep, and just by watching her sleep so peacefully, I thought she was really adorable. However, I could not get distracted from my personal quest! If I left during the night, I was sure to get asked a lot of questions as to why I was leaving so soon or why I was so bent on finding my parents. Even I could not answer to those questions clearly. All I knew for now was that something was driving me to go find them.

Once I was fulling awakened, I slowly made my way out of the Great Grey's hollow, but I didn't leave until I gave her a proper thanks. "Thank you for everything you've done ... Serenade"

After that I left the hollow towards the Forest Kingdom of Tyto using the directions that Serenade gave me the night before. It pained me a little to leave her like this but I felt that if she did come with me, she'd end up in a bad situation and if she had to die because she followed me, well, I'd rather not think about having another death on my conscience. It also pained me to leave because Serenade had proven herself to be quite understanding unlike the first impression I had of her.

I had my personal quest and she had hers. That was so until she caught up to me. "Kurth! Wait up!" I heard Serenade behind me.

"Good Glaux! What are you doing, Serenade?" I asked her after I had turned my head to see her.

"Ain't it obvious? I'm coming with you, of course!" She exclaimed.

"Don't you have your brother to search for, though?" I reminded her.

"Yes, I do. But I figured that I'd have more chances in finding Twilight with someone else. What do you say?" Serenade asked me. "I help you find you parents and in return, you help me my brother."

I had hoped that this would not go like this but it seems that she's very bent on finding her brother.

_Oh well, if it mean having another pair of eyes and wings to help me. How can I refuse such an offer?_ I told myself.

"Very well but if you come with me, you'll have to act as a guide as I am not very accustomed to these forests," I answered.

"I think that's a good enough bargain. To the Forest of Tyto then!" Serenade cheerfully hooted.

"To the Forest of Tyto!" I followed.

Under her lead, we travelled mostly at night to avoid the infamous mobbing that crows so loved to do on unfortunate owls that happened to travel by day. However, on certain occasions, we flew during the day and fortunately, we never got mobbed. During our travel, Serenade didn't stop asking countless questions and there was quite a number to which I did not have an answer at all. Some were easier to answer and others, a little bit harder.

"So, as you mentioned earlier, you escaped from St. Aegolius. Right?"

"Yes, that is correct. I have to ask, though; why do you want to know this?"

"Well, actually, I've been dyin' to know how you got out of there. Did you fight your way out of there, perhaps?" Serenade inquired.

"No, I did not. I don't fight for your information," I told her.

"What do you mean by that? How can't you fight?"

"You see, it is against my belief to fight, I'm a gizzard resister of some sort," I revealed.

"That's not very good if another owl tried to kill you..."

"In that case, I'll just use my wits to outsmart those unlucky owls! Just how do you think I managed to get away from those owls in those canyons?"

"Using you wits?" Serenade repeated.

"Yes, exactly! There's nothing like a well-prepared mind to win any battle!"

"I don't quite understand what you are saying. Even if you have your wits, how can you win a battle if you can't even fight it to begin with?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't say things correctly. I may be a gizzard resister but I will fight under certain circumstances. If it is for a friend of mine, I would be glad to trade my own life for his. That is what I like to call willpower," I explained.

"More like stupidity," Serenade muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"I said that it is more like stupidity to me!"

"Why so?" I asked, not sure of what she meant by that.

"Because giving away your own life for another is meaningless. What will you ever accomplish by doing things like that. Your logic's a frinkin' pile of racdrops!"

She was right, too. Thinking like that was the first step towards a short life and since mine had begun only a few months ago, I didn't want it to end so quickly. I had to change that conviction of mine unless my wish was to have a short life. It was true that I didn't really aspire to violence and such other things but if I don't have the choice, I'd take the fight to my enemies and fight with everything I have to make sure those I care for can keep on living. I would not fight to the death but I would surely try to cripple my enemies as much as possible.

That said, just when I thought about changing my way of doing things, I took notice of several crows around us. And this time, the winds were in their favour. If they were to attack now, we would have only a slight chance of survival.

Before I could linger any longer on what I should do to avoid trouble with those crows, one of them tried to attack me. I swiftly banked to my right but as I did that, another crow crow attacked me. To avoid this next one, I did, to my surprise, a back flip and fight after that, I went into a spin to dodge the simultaneous attack of two crows coming from above. After recovering from my spin, I looked in Serenade's direction to see how she was faring and upon doing so, I saw that that two other crows did to her what others had tried to do to me. They grabbed both her wings and they began to make her go into a deadly dive.

"Let her go!" I screeched as loud as I could.

I knew that if they succeeded in making her dive head first into the ground floor, it'd mean the end for her. At such height and speed, survival was nigh impossible. There had to be something I could do to help her. I felt absolutely compelled. If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be this near from the Forest Kingdom of Tyto, the home of Tyto owls such as Barn Owls. If it hadn't been for her understanding my problems concerning Hortense and Grimble, I wouldn't have come in terms with what I had done to them. Helping her in this most difficult situation felt like it was the least I could do to return the favour.

_To kill, you must hate_. A voice in my head echoed.

Then for the first time in my life, I was overwhelmed by a gigantic wave of hate. Hate that filled my very being. For a short moment only, my mind went totally blank and shortly after that, it was filled with countless methods to effectively kill an owl, a crow or any other kind of prey.

Using a power stroke, followed by a dive, I launched myself at one of the crows holding Serenade's wings. The crow never saw me coming and in a matter of seconds, I had tore open a huge gash on its back. Then, without giving the bird any respite, I ripped out its spine in a most cruel way. As for the second one, I grabbed its wings and, using an enormous amount of brute force, ripped off one of its wings. I let go of the black-feathered bird and watched it plummet down to the ground.

Suddenly, another crow tried to attack me from behind but thanks to Serenade's warning, I easily dodged the bird. Following the cowardly attack of the crow, I never let the foul bird any time to attack again. I quickly approached the black-feathered bird and before it could react, I made a large gash on its throat using my own talons. This one, too, plummeted down towards the ground. Out of all the crows that mobbed us at the beginning, only two remained. Three had already fled after seeing what I did to those two unfortunate crows.

One of the two remaining crows decided to attack me and before it could attack me with either its beak or talons, I grabbed its throat with my own talons, thus restraining it from fighting back in any ways. As I was searching for a way to dispose of the foul bird, I spotted a sharp-looking branch on a nearby tree. The next thing I did was to descend towards that branch. Once the crow realized what I was planning by carefully looking around itself, it started to fight back a little before it noticed that if it struggled too much, it'd only make my talons sink deeper and deeper into its throat.

Realizing that nothing could ever make me lose my grasp over the foul bird, the crow resigned to its death and completely stopped struggling. Right after the crow gave up on its hope of ever surviving through this, I was flying closer and closer from the branch I planned to use to to dispose of the crow. When I was close enough to the tree that had this particular branch, I flapped my wings faster to gain even more speed. The crow couldn't do anything as I impaled its body through the branch. Blood splattered out of the crow's body like a rain. I was, indeed, a rain on blood. It stained both the tree's bark and the feather of my white-feathered breast.

Upon having killing yet another black feathered bird, I took flight again to hunt the last crow that remained from the group that tried to mob Serenade and I. To clear out of the forest I was in, I made use of a few power strokes and an upward spin to rise way above the crow. As i made sure that I had everything on my side to effectively kill that last bird, I thought of several ways to kill it in the most brutal way I could think of. Out of all those thought came one that resulted in a slow and painful death. Having made up my mind on this thought, I swooped down on the crow and before it could see what had happened, I grabbed its head with my right foot.

I immediately went into a dive afterwards. At first, I had thought of just crushing the crow's body on the ground floor but to accommodate to my slow and painful kill, I softly alighted down but that didn't mean I had any intentions on releasing the crow peacefully. Far from that! Once on the ground, I began closing my talons around the crow's head until it cracked open and blood splattered a bit around.

Shortly after the crow had died, Serenade landed near me. She feared me. Of that I was sure since she carefully took her distances away from me. Then came the inevitable question that one such as Serenade might ask after having been exposed to such a massacre.

"Who are you?"

"I'm myself. Kurth, the Barn Owl and the gizzard resister," I answered.

Strangely, I had gained back my original state of mind just after that last crow died from having its skull cracked open.

"Don't lie! There's no way that a gizzard resister could have killed those crows with such ease and brutality. And don't go thinkin' that I didn't see you when you murdered those crows. You seemed thrilled by the single thought of killing those birds, almost as if you were taking pleasure slaughtering them. Answer me frankly this time; who're are you?" Serenade asked once more.

"Frankly, I don't really remember anything after those two crows tried to plummet you on the ground. I also heard this little voice in my head that told me that I needed to hate if I wanted to kill. Still, where does that terrible stench come from?"

"Yourself."

That was Serenade's only answer and it somehow prompted me to look down at myself. I tried to catch a glimpse of what Serenade referred to when she said that the stench came from myself but I didn't see that clearly. Fortunately, there was a lake not far away from where we were as I recalled before we got mobbed by those crows.

As I alighted in front of the lake's reflecting waters, I instantly knew what she was talking about. The stench did indeed come from me since my white-feathered breast was covered was covered in blood droplets. I staggered in shock. Had I really killed all of those crows? Did I really find pleasure in slaughtering those black-feathered birds? Just who was I? Those questions echoed in my head but the one that needed and answer the most was the one questioning my identity. Some could say that my behaviour was a selfish on but at that time, I really needed one answer to satisfy all of my questions and that was the knowledge of who my mum and da were.

That dream I had some nights ago before I took flight with Serenade was the only thing that drove me forward. Those two owls I saw in my dream, those who looked like the leaders of that group of owls made up entirely of Tytos, were the only hint I had to find my parents. That was unless they were my parents. But in my dream, the clash between those thugs of St. Aggie's and that particular group of Tytos didn't not happen in the Forest Kingdom of Tyto. It instead took place on the outskirts of some kind of foundation that resembled a castle.

A castle was one of the many foundations that the Others had built. While on our way to the Forest of Tyto, Serenade had taken the time to inform me that foundations such as chapels and castles could be found throughout the owl kingdoms. She also told me that amongst the vast forests of the owls kingdoms three of them could be heard from every part of of the Southern Kingdoms; the Forest Kingdom of Tyto, Silverveil and the Forest Kingdom of Ambala. Other kingdoms found in the Southern Kingdoms could be known as the Beaks, the Barrens, the Shadow Forest, the Desert of Kuneer and last but not the least, the infamous Canyons of St. Aegolius.

Bad memories flooded my mind just by thinking about it. Anyhow, if I could find anything related to my mum and da in the Forest Kingdom of Tyto, I'd search for them in the last forest Kingdom of the Southern Kingdoms and if I couldn't find any traces of them at all, I would make my way to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. If I could find it first, that is. May goal in going to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree was to find Soren and Gylfie. As concerned as I was concerned, they should be thinking that I was still in St. Aggie's. And Serenade's quest was to find her brother, Twilight. He was a Great Grey whose egg seemed to have gotten lost.

"Say, Serenade?"

"Yes. What is it, Kurth?"

"I was wondering if you went to Ambala in search of you brother," I said.

"No, not yet. In fact, this would have been the next place I would have searched for after Silverveil," Serenade explained.

"We should got there after our search throughout this forest," I added.

She agreed to my idea ans after our search in the Forest of Tyto, our next stop would be Ambala...

—

**Well, that it yet again for another chapter! Since I miraculously managed to finish my fight chapter in time, I had time to update this one. Hopefully, starting from Tuesday the 28th, I'll start updating the fifth chapter as a parting gift for you guys since I will be out for the whole summer vacation. In any event, Send me positive/friendly/constructive replies as I really want this story to have a little worth at all. I truly love how this story goes and I'm sure you guys'll love it even more as the future chapters will unfold. This is LordChronicler46, signing out!**


	5. A Fateful Meeting

**Well, this is my final update for summer time. I know that this goes against my methods but if it means giving you another hangover for two months, I'll do it just for you. Enough with this already, this is the fifth update for this story and an old character gets an appearance once more. You should already know who it is :3**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own in any way any of Lasky's work such as the story of the books, Soren, Gylfie, Twilight, Digger an many more of her original characters. I only own the plot of the fan fiction, Kurth, Serenade and Threka.**

**—**

**Chapter 5: A Fateful Meeting**

What a disappointment! We searched thoroughly the vast forest of the Forest Kingdom of Tyto and still, we didn't find any hints as to where my parents or Twilight could be. If my parents had lived in Tyto before, they didn't anymore since I did not find any trace of them throughout the kingdom. Even if I didn't find any information about them, that didn't mean that I had given up on ever finding them.

The worst of it all was that all the hollows in the countless fir trees that composed the vast forest had been abandoned. I had figured that this was because of them many snatchings that that had happened all over the owl kingdoms. If the families there heard of the snatchings, surely they wouldn't be as stupid as to remain there and have their chicks snatched as well. However, just because most of them had fled the kingdom didn't mean that some of them hadn't remained in Tyto even if they knew of everything that had happened in the previous years.

At first, I had thought that only a few months passed by but after receiving further information from one of the few families that remained despite knowing the risks of doing so, I learned that a two or three years had passed since while I was stuck in St. Aegolius.

Anyhow, Serenade had gotten quite distant since that incident with the crows that had happened a moon cycle ago. I couldn't blame her, though. After having witnessed one such things, one could think I could snap again at any given moment. That was not the case, however. I had snapped like that because I wanted to protect a friend. Essentially, to fight only to protect my own life or the lives of those I cared for was the only kind of fighting I would ever use but in that previous skirmish with the crows, I had acted out of pure hatred. It consumed me and in a matter of seconds, I had changed.

That was why I sought out the truth about who I was in hopes of recovering the memories I had forgotten. If I could just remember who I truly was, then I could perhaps control myself. In that last fight, I heard a voice in my head that told me that I needed to hate if I wanted to kill. I didn't know how I came to remember such a thing but that memory was poisonous to my mind. It was only after a moon cycle that the memories of that last skirmish began to sink in . I slowly remembered the methods I used to kill those crows and that behaviour I had during that time was not like the credo I upheld.

I was not like many other owls out there; I did not encourage violence and rarely made use of it even in the most dire situations. And brutality like the one I used back then was not something I wanted to use again. I couldn't comprehend how an owl could fight like that.

Before I could think about how I despised that way of fighting and the owls that used it, Serenade and I were approached by two Barn Owls that seemed to be returning to their hollows as they both had a vole in their talons.

"What are you doing in these parts, young'un?" The male Barn Owl asked. "And with a Great Grey, by all means!"

"We're both on a personal quest so we decided that we should help each other until we fulfil those quests," Serenade explained in my stead.

"Might you inform us a little more about those quests of yours, young'uns?" The female asked.

I had to be cautious around those two owls. There was something about them that made my gizzard tremble. Something not all that trustworthy. Whatever I said to them, I had to be careful as to how I would say it. If my suspicions about them were indeed true, then I'd have to slip out as much information as I could from them. Once again, my cunning would prove to be something of great use in this situation.

"Of course! You see, Serenade here is searching for her brother and I am searching for my mum and da."

"Could we inquire about the reasons of you search, young Barn Owl?"

"Yes, you can. And, by the way, my name is Kurth. In any case, I was snatched away by the owls of St. Aegolius and now, it seems that I forgot about everything about my past life so I'm searching for them to place back those memories together," I told the two Barn Owls.

"Don't you have any kind of vague memories of them or any other owl that could help you find them?" The male asked.

"Well, there is one owl that I saw in one of my dreams that could, perhaps, help me find my parents. She's a Barn Owl just like you and I but she has this face which seems to have the moon trapped in it. She is also unusually large for a Barn Owl," I described the owl from my dream.

Then, the two owls looked at each other, blinked and screeched like only a Barn Owl could screech.

"NYRA!" The two Barn Owls screeched in unison.

"So, her name is Nyra. Do you know where I could find her?" I asked the two owls.

"Surely you must be yoicks, young'un!"

"Not really. Still, her name seems to install fear in you," I remarked.

"And it should! That owl is the mate of Metal Beak and she is, along with that mate of hers, the leader of the Pure Ones," the female told us.

"The Pure Ones? Somehow, that name seems so familiar to me," I said, conveying my thoughts out loud.

"If you lived in these parts during those last years, you know them, all right."

"Who are they, anyway?" Serenade asked the Barn Owls.

"They're a group of Tyto owls bent on how Tytos are the purest species of all. They recruit and snatch all kinds of Tytos from us Barn Owls, or tyto alba, to the Sooty Owls," the male explained to us.

"Is she the one you saw in your dream, Kurth?" Serenade inquired.

"Yes, that was Nyra I saw in my dream. Although her mate in my dream didn't seem to have a metal mask as Metal Beak's name supports," I revealed.

"That might have been the former leader of the Pure Ones, also known as High Tyto. He was killed by Metal Beak when they fought for the title of High Tyto."

Of course, no owl would know that much when such a group installed so much fear in them. That was why I was suspicious of those two Barn Owls. If they knew so much about those Pure Ones, only two choices offered themselves to the situation. The first one was, of course, them being part of this evil organization and the other was the chance of them being spies for other owls. To uncover their true identity, a well-placed question might be necessary. A well-placed threat could also do a good job to do so. However, I still wasn't sure if they were Pure Ones or spies.

"Well, in any case, thank you for you information. We'll be on our way now," Serenade said.

"Wait just a moment! How can you know so much about those Pure Ones if you fear them like you do?" I asked the two Barn Owls.

"Well ... you see ... don't let them escape!" The female screeched

"If you know how to fight, here's your chance, Serenade!"

Before the two Barn Owls could attack, Serenade and I stormed out of the hollow and quickly rose up to the sky. Those two owls I suspected of being Pure Ones quickly followed us. This time, I was in control and they were flying right into my playground. Maybe I did not possess the brutality I had against those crows but I did possess agility and skill that was more than enough to topple those two Barn Owls.

They were the first ones to bring the fight and to confuse them, we both went on our own separate side to elevate our chances of victory. The male was on my tail while the female was on Serenade's. He was older than me and that did make a difference. His flight was faster, better and stronger than mine but he most probably couldn't do all the flying techniques I made use of as easily as I could. Just when he was closing in, I made use of a graceful back flip and unlike what he had thought, I stopped halfway in my back flip and then dove into a spin.

Everything happened so fast that he didn't have time to comprehend what had happened. When he finally caught on what had happened, I had him pinned to the ground, a foot on his throat and the other, on his left wing. While the male may have thought that I would end his days, I never did. I couldn't bring myself to kill another creature unless it was needed to survive. After the incident with the crows, I had experienced my own first battle and that didn't leave me with very good memories. I claimed to be a gizzard resister but here I was, threatening this owl with his very own life.

"No, now. I wouldn't try to move that much if I were you. I've got the upper hand here and just with a swift movement of my talons, I could open that little throat of yours," I whispered in a sadistic voice.

The male Barn Owl that had tried to break free of my hold quickly calmed down as he realized that I could decide his fate with just a single act.

"Good! Now just answer to the few questions I have for you."

"If I answer you, will you let me go?"

"Maybe ... that will all depend on how you will decide to answer me."

"Wh ... what do you w ... want to know, then?" The Barn Owl stammered in fear.

"Tell me where I can find those so-called Pure Ones," I told the Barn Owl, who had wilfed down to half his original size.

"Last time I saw them, they were headed for Ambala with several owlets with them," the owl answered nervously. "and I think that one of those owlets was Metal Beak's younger sister."

"Do you know anything else about Nyra?"

"N ... no, she's a mystery not many have pierced through. Most of the times, only her mates can do so. Will you let me go now?"

"No quite. I won't kill you but I can't let you return to the Pure Ones and tell them that I'm coming," I told him.

"What are you going to do with me?" The male asked, his nervousity still present in his voice.

"Oh, I could do all sorts of things! I could torture you, let your mate die right in front of your eyes," I explained as I saw him look over to where his mate and Serenade were. "or I could just cripple you! I wonder where you'd go with one of your precious wings missing!"

"No! Please, I beg of you! If you let me go, I promise you that I won't go tell the Pure Ones about you!"

"I'm sorry, there's no chance of me believing your words," I replied coldly.

He continued begging me to let him go but my ear slits were completely closed to his voice. It was as if I was immune to his pleads. It was in my intention to make him suffer and I had found the perfect way to do so. I wouldn't kill him. He would surely die but at least, I wouldn't have to dwell on the fact that I had killed the Barn Owl. He would certainly curse my name to hagsmire just before his death as I was the one who caused it. The one who would get the kill, however, would not be me but instead, a ground predator. The scent of fresh blood always attracted those flesh-eating creatures.

Finally, I had decided that he would be needing his left wing any longer. As my right foot already was on that wing of his, I simply grabbed it tightly and began pulling it away from his body. I watched him writhe in pain and yet, that didn't even affect me one bit. To be frank, the more he was in pain, the more I enjoyed it. If a sane owl from any other part, at the exception of Serenade, saw me do this, he or she would have surely said that I was crazy and evil.

When blood squirted out of the wound where his wing used to be and onto the feather of my breast and face, another memory flashed through my mind. In that memory, I was on some kind of castle wall and next to me were the unusually large Barn Owl, Nyra, and another unusually large Barn owl, a male this time. In front of me was a smaller owl that was held prisoner by two Barn Owls, surely Pure Ones. This smaller owl did look like a Tyto thanks to his dark eyes but he wasn't a Barn owl because of his plumage. It wasn't the same as the one of Nyra and that other large owl next to me.

And then, I looked up at Nyra and ask if I could kill him. She nodded to give her agreement on my question and even called me dearest! Even worse, I was thrilled by that. I slowly approached the small owl to install fear in his being and once I was in front of him, I raised a foot and blood followed. It splattered everywhere and once it was over, the Barn Owl next to Nyra approached me, congratulating me on becoming a true Pure One. He then called me his son and just as I was about to learn more about my past, a voice dragged me away from my memory.

"Kurth!"

_Who's voice is this, calling me out..._

_"_Kurth!"

_That sounds like Serenade's..._

"Kurth! Say something!"

_Wait, that IS Serenade calling out me!_

"Kurth!"

"What! I'm sorry but I was so lost in my own thoughts that I couldn't hear anything else around."

"Yeah ... I did notice that," Serenade sighed.

"So what happened to that other Barn Owl?" I asked her.

"Dead. Her corpse should be around there," Serenade spoke as she looked at the female's dead body. "and I see that you've dealt with the male. Is he dead?"

"No, I couldn't resign myself to kill him in the end," I answered.

"I'm telling you this for you own good, Kurth. You're still too soft."

"I know but this is who I am," I said as I thought back at that memory I had remembered a few moments before.

"What's wrong? You seem disturbed by something."

"Actually, I am. When I ripped off this owl's wing, a memory came back and this memory held an evil meaning," I told the great Grey.

"What do you mean?" Serenade asked

"I mean that I was once a Pure One! My mum is Nyra and and I think that my da was the Pure Ones's former leader before he was killed by this Metal Beak. And in that memory, I seemed to enjoy killing as an entertainment. I saw it as a mere game," I explained.

"That might explain why you seemed to enjoy yourself against those crows in the Barrens. Still, to learn that your mum and da are Pure Ones must be pretty hard to face when you don't like killing."

"And I have respect for all kind of owls, not just Tytos," I added.

"Yes, you also have that," Serenade conceded.

"In any case, now that I knew that, I'll have to go find more about my past by travelling to that place they talked about. He mentioned that they were located somewhere in Ambala," I said.

"You're not seriously thinking of going there to meet with them, are you?"

"I am and you cannot stop me, Serenade," I replied hastily.

"I won't but seeing as you and I are both headed for Ambala, maybe we should follow each other until you reach this castle where those Pure Ones live in," Serenade suggested.

"Yes, it might be a good idea but you might want to separate before I actually reach that castle."

"Why so?"

"Remember: the Pure Ones are bent on how Tytos are the higher species out of us all. If they see a Barn Owl such as myself with a Great Grey like you, they'll consider both of us as enemies. Also, this is something I have to do by myself," I said.

"If that is you choice, I shall part from you a night before you go there," Serenade told me.

"Thank you ... Serenade," I replied, softly.

So we flew towards Ambala a few hours after we got the information out of those two Pure Ones in the Forest Kingdom of Tyto. Having learned our lesson once, we only flew during the night, when crows wouldn't mob us. Since Ambala wasn't as far as Silverveil, travelling there took us only four nights as we were quite deep into the Forest of Tyto. Once we arrived in Ambala, we took shelter in an abandoned hollow and since First Light was soon coming, we succumbed to sleep really fast.

During that day of sleep, I had yet another strange dream. And that dream concerned an owl that I had considered dead. Yes, I dreamt of Hortense and in that dream of mine, I saw her in a cave along two bald eagles. Those eagles were surely the ones that helped Hortense carry the eggs out of St. Aggie's. It had to be a dream as Hortense had died in St. Aggie's during my stay there. She could have survived miraculously but no one knew all the detail exactly.

If she did survive, maybe the guilt of believing I killed her could be removed from my many burdens if I just saw her well and alive. I didn't know where that cave of hers was but I had a twinge in my gizzard that seemed to tell me that some of my answers could be answered in Ambala, even the darkest ones. We began exploring Ambala in search of Serenade's brother, Twilight, while being careful on avoiding castles and such foundations the Others built as we did not know in which the Pure Ones resided.

To help us on our search, we asked a few owls if they had seen a Great Grey that resembled Serenade and to our surprise, one said she had seen one travelling with a Barn Owl, and Elf Owl and a Burrowing Owl. I knew that Soren and Gylfie were the Barn Owl and Elf travelling with Twilight because the Spotted Owl told us that they seemed to be headed towards where the Sea of Hoolemere spanned. Based on Legends of Ga'Hoole, the Great Ga'Hoole Tree stands on an island in the Sea of Hoolemere. This island, the Island of Hoole, was surely Soren and Gylfie's destination as they believed the legends when they were still together in St. Aegolius.

But that wasn't my destination just yet. I didn't ask the Spotted Owl about the Pure Ones for I knew she probably feared them if she knew about them, that is. After that, we thanked her for her answers and continued our search throughout Ambala. Although the Spotted told us she had sighted a Great Grey that did resemble Serenade's description of Twilight about a moon cycle ago, my companion still had hope to find her missing brother in Ambala.

That hope was however crushed a few nights after we searched thoroughly this Forest Kingdom. We had no chance in finding Twilight and his band and before we collapsed from exhaustion in flight, we alighted in a cave near us and it was in that same cave that the dream I had a few nights before became reality. In that cave stood two bald eagles and in the back of the cave stood a cloudy figure that resembled a small owl and I couldn't see clearly so I didn't know if it really was Hortense as it had been in my dream The moment the owl turned around to face Serenade and I, I immediately knew who she was.

"Hortense? Is that you, Hortense?" I asked, unsure if it had been the right question to ask.

"My name is Mist but I was once known to others as Hortense. In any case, do we know each other?" Mist asked back.

"I know you but I'm not sure if you remember me, though," I answered.

"Try me. Maybe I do remember you."

"Does the name Kurth ring any bell?"

"Kurth...," Mist pondered. "... somehow, it feels familiar."

"Want any more clues?" I asked. Her only response was a nod. "Well, Kurth's my name and if you still have problems remembering me, I'll let you know that we were in the same in St. Aegolius."

"Kurth ... St. Aegolius ... wait! Could it be?" Mist gasped momentarily. "Are you the same Kurth that befriended Soren and Gylfie years ago back in St. Aggie's?"

"The very same!" I happily replied.

"However did you escape from there?"

"With the help of one of my friends. He is no more now, though. It's a shame that his days were ended by Skench. He sure was on honest owl," I explained as a lone tear dropped down from my left eye, remembering Grimble's resolve to help us despite all the odds against him.

"I knew that you weren't like the others owlets. You looked a lot older than them to begin with. But you seemed so lost at the same time. Never would I have thought it possible to escape out of there without any outside help. You must have gone through a lot to be here," Mist stated.

"More than you can imagine. I had to go through hagsmire just to get out of there," I revealed to Mist.

"Might I inquire about them?" She asked.

"You may but some of them, I warn you, might not please you."

"Go on. I was prepared for gruelling revelations the moment I asked you that question," Mist replied.

Since she seemed awfully prepared for what I had to say, I told Mist, or Hortense as I had known her, my story starting from my stay in St. Aggie's to my escape and how I ended up in her cave like this. She didn't seem to be too surprised nor did she look angry when I told her how I had reported her to Finny to allow my escape plan to flourish. She instead told me that she knew it would have happened at some point or another even if I had not intervened.

Then, she complimented me on how my plan was a brilliant one. I had not expected that kind of response coming from the Spotted Owl that had lost the colour of her plumage. It had just turned grey instead of being the same colour as most Spotted Owls had. Complimenting me even more, Mister told me that I had acted with even more courage than she or Grimble had whereas I thought that all I had done were mistakes. When I asked her why she believed that she told me that even if I had not done things like she did, I trusted my gizzard and put my own life on the line to protect Soren and Gylfie and make sure that they escaped successfully, even if it meant having to bear gruelling burdens.

"There is still one thing that troubles me, Mist," I stated.

"How I survived Finny's attack? Is that what troubles you, friend?" Mist asked me

"How did you know..."

"I just knew I was bound to this question somehow. Anyway, I would have been dead that day if it hadn't been for dear Zan here," Mist said as she looked up at one of the two Bald Eagles that were in the cave with us.

The Bald Eagle, a female, turned to face me and while I was expecting some kind of reply from her part, it never did come. I wondered for a moment why she did not say anything to respond to Mist's praise.

"I'm sorry about my mate but she's mute. She had her tongue ripped off in that battle against the evil one. My name is Streak and this is, as Mist already told you, my mate, Zan," Streak informed us.

"Must have been painful!" Serenade exclaimed.

Zan then glanced at Streak and jut as if he could understand what she was thinking, he answered that although Zan was mute, he could still understand what she wanted to say. In short, he also told us that yes, it had hurt Zan when that white demon called Finny had ripped off her tongue when she tried to help Mist out. It had been, according to Streak, Zan's intervention that had given him the time to rescue Hortense when Finny tried to kill her.

"By the way, you said earlier that you dreamt of me and this cave, didn't you Kurth?" Mist asked me.

"Yes, I did. Why the question, though?" I asked back.

"It could be a sign of you having the same ability as me. You see, sometimes I have dreams and at certain occasions, these dreams come true," Mist explained.

"I only saw you in this cave when I had that dream. Nothing less, nothing more. But the strangest thing about my dreams is that sometimes, I can see glimpses of my forgotten past in them. I didn't tell you yet but in one of those dreams, I saw my mum and da," I told Mist, ashamed of the revelation I was about to tell her.

"Why are you looking so depressed?" Mist inquired, surely because because she thought it should be a good thing to have seen that. "You should be happy about it!"

"I am but I can't be happy about it at the same time. If you knew who they were, you wouldn't be that happy about it either."

"Who are they, in any case? You have piqued my curiosity, owl," Streak said.

"My da is no more. He was killed by Metal Beak for the title of High Tyto and my mum. Well, my mum is still alive. Her name is Nyra. I'm sure you are familiar with that name, aren't you?"

"Indeed, we do know her. The mate of Metal Beak. She is the second general of the Pure Ones after that accursed High Tyto," Sreak said slowly.

"And the sheer thought of having an owl like that as my mum makes my gizzard lurch in a most painful way," I revealed.

"While what you said is true, you must not forget that it is not our parents that make us into what we are. Never forget that and you will always triumph over her dark temptations," Mist told me.

"In any case, do you think we could rest here for the day, we're tired after all this flight," spoke Serenade.

"Well, we do have some unused space, so I guess you could indeed stay for as long as you like."

"Thank you," Serenade replied.

While Serenade went to sleep quite quickly, I stayed awake with Mist for a long while, even after the sun had risen. I talked to her about my experiences from St. Aggie's to her cave in detail but I omitted to tell her about my fight with the crows in the Barrens. I later decided to tell her about it as she had the right to know it after all I had revealed to her. Along with that fight, I told her of my dream where I saw myself as a Pure One, ready to go through his special ceremony in order to become a true Pure One. She also thought of that dream as very deranging.

Still, as she said earlier, it is not our parents that make us into what we are. And because of that, I believed that my past couldn't change me from what I had become now. Not now, not never. I also told her about my plan to seek out the Pure Ones so I could learn more about myself. My only fear in that quest was that I could fall victim to their temptations and fall into my past self's ways. To recomfort me, Mist only told me that all I needed to do was to believe in myself, my gizzard, my mind and my heart. With that thought in mind, I could finally have some peace with myself as I knew that I'd be all right if I followed that advice.

"Good Light, Kurth," Mist told me before she, herself, went to sleep.

"Good Light ... Mist," I responded while I was lost in my thoughts.

During that day of rest, I had yet another dream but that one was different. It was actually a dream of something that was bound to happen. In that dream, I saw the owls of St. Aggie's attacking the Pure Ones's stronghold. I saw both sides clashing against each other and once again, St. Aegolius's goal was still to snatch owlets to their Academy for Orphaned Owls in the canyons of St. Aegolius. As proof that my dream wasn't in the past, I clearly saw an unusually large Barn Owl wearing a metal helmet order the Pure Ones to retreat.

While they did, I saw the entirety of the forces of St. Aggie's storm into their stronghold and snatch many owlets contained inside the remains of this castle that served as stronghold. A part of this event seemed to be missing as the next thing I dreamt of was my own talons sinking into Threka's flesh. Then, all I was able to see next was myself leaving the battleground with an owlet clutched in my talons, leaving behind Threka's lifeless body.

"Wake up, Kurth! You're just having a bad dream," Serenade said as she tried to wake me up by shaking me.

"What's wrong! I wasn't having a bad dream at all," I responded.

"If you weren't, tell me why you were yelling and screeching, saying that you had killed once more?"

"I ... I..."

I couldn't tell Serenade of my dreams just like that. I took a glance at Mist and as I did, she nodded and I remembered our conversation the night before. She told me that the time would soon come and Serenade and I would have to separate sooner than we had planned. Because of that dream, I knew that I had to intervene in that conflict that would explode between St. Aegolius and the Pure Ones. I quickly grasped all of my courage and then faced Serenade.

"This is where we part, Serenade..."

—

**Well, this is all I have left before I get back to my job. I wished I could stay to be able to give you fans some more chapters but don't you worry, I will write more during this summer than I ever wrote before. Anyhow, want to know something funny? I'm not a native English speaker. My mother language is French and English, my second. And yet, I can write like that without any problem. I was always interested in the English language and this is why I have more vocabulary than all of my friends. In any case, are you happy to have seen Hortense once more. Well, I am. But now, another event is going to happen and Kurth will be a part of it. Know what it is, well don't post it for it would spoil my cliffy for the entire summer. And so, this is how it ends for now, I guess I'll update sometimes in September, so don't get too impatient since you already know that I will not be home for a whole summer. This is LordChronicler46, signing off**


	6. The Truth

**And I am back, people! Wonder no more on my cliffy for it shall be revealed at long last. Another character will now be introduced into this chapter for a brief appearance only.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own in any ways the work of Kathryn Lasky. The only things I do own are the plot, Kurth, Serenade, Threka and Maritha.**

**—**

**Chapter 6: The Truth**

"Is there a reason for you to leave so soon?" Serenade asked.

"I wish you hadn't asked that question, Serenade...," I sighed.

"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you to give me a reason."

"No ... no," I whispered. "I can't leave you in the dark after all we went through. You have a right to know certain things and this is one of them."

"You had another dream, haven't you?"

"As perceptive as ever, friend," I praised my friend.

"Thank you but I really don't think praise is going to answer my questions," Serenade replied.

"Ah, yes! I'm terribly sorry! Yes, as you predicted, I had another dream. That dream was, however, one that allowed me to foresee the future. Of course, you weren't with me and from what I recall of that dream, I killed one of the owls of St. Aegolius in order to rescue an owlet from their grasp. That hinted towards the fact that I encouraged the missing Pure Ones to fight after Metal Beak ordered their retreat," I explained.

"You would probably ask me why I think that and before you _do_ ask that question, I will answer you by saying that when I escaped with the owlet clutched in my talons, the sky was turned into a battlefield. Owlets were dropped one after the other and the owls of St. Aggie's retreated after the Pure Ones's counter attack. The full moon's light marked an event I name the Great Downing. If you had heard Mist earlier, you would understand why I need to go there," I continued.

"What exactly did you tell him? I am becoming more and more curious," Serenade asked as she turned to face Mist.

"It appears that Kurth and I have the same ability: to see into the future. While we do have the same strange power, his appear to be far stronger than mine. And before you ask; yes, I saw the question form on your beak. I am only able to see the future as a blur but he can do much more! He sees into the future almost as if he were actually there. Even more, he also sees into his past in an awakened state. Not even I, who has been exposed to the flecks, can do that."

"Flecks? What are those," Serenade asked since she was not accustomed to the flecks like Mist and I were.

That single word managed to send a shiver down my spine as the memories of being a first-degree picker flooded back my mind. Memories I tried to suppress from existence now came back against my will. I explained at the best of my ability what flecks were to Serenade and after my explanation, Mist followed and explained the risks of being exposed to the flecks while being an egg. She told us that she was about seven years old despite her rather colourless feathers and that the flecks had interfered with the growth of her wings, thus preventing her to fly properly. That was probably why the patrols from St. Aegolius mistook her for an owlet back when she was taken there.

"So, you expect me to believe that tiny, metallic shards rendered you almost flightless, gave your father the ability to see through rocks, which sound absolutely absurd, and that they drove your grandmother completely yoicks, causing her death?"

"Would you still doubt if I told you that all of what I told you is real? That I saw it with my own two eyes," Mist told the Great Gray.

"Well, yes. Your story is really unbelievable," Serenade replied.

"You'd be best to believe her, friend. Flecks are materials we do not comprehend. Trust me, I picked for them at St. Aegolius and those metallic shards do some awful things to our gizzards. It's almost as if it disorient us. At least, that's what I felt when I picked for them. They also seems to possess some sort of magnetic properties, meaning that normal metals are rendered useless against them."

"In short, no owl can really fight using battle claws when its enemies possess flecks..."

"Not entirely. Certain metal have properties that cannot be affected by the flecks but I do not know which one as I was never interested in metals and battle claws," I interrupted Serenade.

"Precisely why you wither want to fight without any battle claws or with battle claws made from those kind of metals," Mist added.

"But how do you know so much about those?"

"As I told you before, I was exposed, although only a little, to the flecks while I was still in St. Aggie's and as for my knowledge, it would be best for you if you did not know where it comes from," I answered.

"Has it always been a habit of yours to speak in riddles like that?"

"Why, of course! I can't give you any information so easily. It would be too easy for you. You should also know by now that sometimes, some things are better left unrevealed," I churred.

"Yes, I do know that. It's just that you are such a mystery to me and I want to learn more about those mysteries of yours."

"I suggest you don't look too deep ... some of my mysteries shouldn't be revealed at all. In any case, are my reasons for my hasty departure enough?'" I asked Serenade.

"Yes, they do. It will only be different from now on. I mean, travelling alone ... again. After all the times we've been together," Serenade spoke, he voice trembling slightly.

"I know what you mean ... it will surely be different, all alone once more. But I promise you this; we will meet again. Mark my words for I hardly ever break a promise," I told her, trying to comfort her.

"I hope you do. You are my first true friend and I don't want to lose you, so don't go dyin' out there!"

"Don't worry about that. The ones you should worry about are those Pure Ones I'm going to visit!" I let out.

"Now, now. It's a good thing to be enthusiastic but to much will make you cocky," Mist told me.

"I was only trying to comfort Serenade since she looked so down," I replied.

"I do know what you were trying to do, do not bother yourself with that. I was only making a point about how enthusiasm blinds our ability to judge properly."

"Don't worry, this is a point I will not forget anytime soon."

"I really do think you should get going soon, the moon will be in full shine in only a few nights. If you want things to go according to your dream, you should leave tonight," Serenade said.

"I was thinking about that but before I go, I want to know where you will be heading next after this?" I demanded.

"Obviously, I will be off trying to find my brother to that Great Ga'Hoole Tree the Spotted Owl talked about two nights ago. It might be a arduous travel but just like you, I believe that I can do this."

"Then take care, my friend. And Mist, I hope towards the next time we will meet once more. There are still many things that you need to know that I feel will be safe in your care. At least, more than most owls I may come to befriend."

"You needn't worry, Kurth. I just have this feeling in my gizzard that we shall meet again and more than just once," Mist said.

"Well, it has been good to be by your side, my friends. I'll be on my way, now," I told both Serenade and Mist.

"Do take care, my friend!" The two owls bid me farewell in unison.

It did pain me a little to leave them in such a manner but I knew, as Serenade reminded me, that the moon would soon become full and according to my dream, I would kill Threka and save that owlet from the grasp of the St. Aegolius's owls along with the other owls of the Pure Ones on the night of a full moon. If I had left even a night later, I don't think I would have made it to the Pure Ones's stronghold in time.

Anyhow, after I left Mist's care, I was faced with a harsh weather. It was raining heavily and strong winds were against me. If it hadn't been for my third eyelid, the debris thrown in every way would have certainly damaged my eyes. Thank Glaux for those third eyelid!

At least, that foul weather did not last for very long; two nights at the very least. The only thing that did bother me with that weather was that it forced me to slow down my flight periods. Since I was on a race against time, I didn't need something such as a storm to slow me down. I had to find the Pure Ones's stronghold before the night of the full moon. One of the reasons for this haste was for my thirst for answers and another one was for my dream to come true like the one I had before concerning Hortense, or Mist as she called herself nowadays.

I was getting slightly desperate and each, when I looked at the moon's cycle, I grew even more desperate. I began thinking that I wouldn't be able to make it in time and with that thought in mind, more dark thoughts emerged from the depths of my mind. Things such as the owlets' safety, Threka's death, my own questions being left unanswered.

No! I couldn't fall victim to failure once more! I had failed with Grimble when he needed help and that more than I could bear. I simply couldn't fall prey to indecisiveness and fear. I had to stay strong and believe in what I think to be right like Hortense, Soren and Gylfie did. They had their beliefs and their concept of righteousness and they upheld it, no matter what the risks of doing so may be.

Anyway, there was something I had omitted to tell both Serenade and Hortense and that was something that wasn't really pretty. It was in the same dream that I had back in Hortense's cave. I had revealed everything to my dear friends, at the exception of this small, yet disturbing detail. I saw it just before Serenade woke me up and upon remarking it, I began wondering how it had happened. I'm not talking about an owlet or or Threka but rather a bleeding wound that ran across my face.

It started at the upper right part of my face, passed over my right eye and then went down in the same angle it had started, which was a diagonal wound. So, knowing that it started upper right side, it ended at the lower left side of my face. It passed just over my beak and what surprised me the most about that wound was that my right eye was still intact. By some luck of some sort, the owl who inflicted me that wound was either too far or maybe something had stopped whoever did it from inflicting me with a far worse wound than that, maybe even death.

At least, the wound wasn't bleeding that much when I saw it in my dream. Surely it had begun to dry at that time because it wasn't new anymore, or just because I had cleaned it and tended to it before the assault started. In any case, I had to quicken my pace for the full moon would soon appear. Judging from the moon's cycle and its form, the full moon would come by in five or six nights.

Anyway, First Light was coming fast and if I wanted to avoid getting mobbed a second time, I would have to find a hollow to rest for the day. I was lucky enough to find one soon after I began to search for one and even more luckier since it seemed to be desolate. I thought it was probably because the Pure Ones's stronghold was near but at the time, it was just a simple guess.

After the day disappeared and night came in its stead, I took flight again and I flew for two more nights until I found that peculiar hollow. At first, I thought it was just another desolate hollow abandoned to escape the growing threat that the Pure Ones had become. Oh, how wrong was I to have thought that! It was indeed inhabited. By an owl that seemed to know me, yet without knowing who I was.

"I'm sorry for my intrusion bit I need a place to stay for the day and I was wondering if you could offer me a shelter here," I told the owl.

"Why, of course you can, dear! Nobody wants to visit me with those Pure On ... no! You shouldn't be alive, let alone be here!"

It was clearly the voice of a female but the moment she gazed at me, she started going yeep. Before she fell against the hard wood of the hollow, I quickly flew to her side and stopped her from going totally yeep. I did it because she had said something that had piqued my curiosity and at certain times, everything that managed to pique my curiosity created questions in my mind and they needed an immediate answer.

"I got you. Don't worry, I won't let go of you just now," I told the old Barn Owl.

Her panic did not disappear right away but she seemed at ease knowing that I supported her. She then told me that she needed some time for herself in order to calm down and that she would be back in an hour or two. I asked her if I could stay in her hollow until she would come back. She answered by telling me that I could make myself at home until she did come back.

An hour later, she came back and she seemed more prepared than when I had first entered the hollow. She looked at me deeply before finally opening the conversation once more.

"As I was saying earlier, how is it that you are still alive?"

"I'm sorry but I think you have me mistaken for another. I'm actually searching for my mother out here in Ambala," I replied.

"Would she happen to be Nyra, perchance?" The Barn Owl inquired.

"How do you know that? I don't think we have met before, madam," I stated.

"I figured that if you weren't _him_, you would surely be _his_ son. You look so alike, the both of you. And please, call me Maritha."

"You knew my father, Maritha?"

"Ah, if I knew him! He was my brother, for Glaux's sake!" Maritha exclaimed. "And he used to be so kind when we were still owlets."

"What happened to him, then?" I asked.

"He met Nyra. At first, he kept his kindness he so readily showed to other but the as years passed by, he changed," Maritha explained.

"What kind of change," I demanded.

"He ... became more aggressive, ruthless and eventually, merciless. I don't know what he saw in that owl but I never trusted her, let alone liked her. A few years after they met, the Pure Ones were created and then all broke loose."

"Let me guess: they begun recruiting Barn Owls and they shoved their ideals of purity into their minds. To think I was once one of them."

"Yes ... they unfortunately managed to get into your mind. I knew that Nyra was up to no good but it wasn't until the Pure Ones came to be that I became a slipgizzle for the Great Tree," Maritha said.

"The Great Tree? As in the Great Ga'Hoole Tree? like in the legends," I asked.

"The very one! But let me assure you that it is no legend. It does exist and it stands on the Island of Hoole. Anyway, I came to this hollow because it was not too far and not too close from the Pure Ones's stronghold. When I notice something strange, I can easily slip away and report to the Guardians."

"If my father was your brother, then that makes you my aunt, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does. We never did meet before and I'm sure that your father never talked to you about me. Why do you ask, though?" Maritha asked me back.

"I have no memories of my past. All my memories go back to my arrival at St. Aegolius. Everything before that has vanished from my mind. Small pieces of that past get back to me with the help of strange dreams I have every now and then. This is why I seek the Pure Ones: to get answers to the questions concerning my past," I told my aunt.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. If Nyra recognizes you, it could mean problems for you."

"I don't really understand what you mean by that, Maritha."

"There is a chance that if she planned something to get rid of _him_, she also planned to get rid of you, too."

"Why? Why would she do something like that to her own son?" I demanded, quite alarmed by her statement.

"I can't say. Nyra is a mystery not so many pierced through. Maybe she found something in you that was impure and needed you gone because of it."

"I see, so if I turned out to be impure, for some reason, she could have thought that I would not be able to take on the legacy that my father carried as leader of the Pure Ones. But what did you mean when you said that my mother planned something to get rid of my father?" I questioned her.

"I can't be sure but I think Nyra planned his death and replaced him with Metal Beak," Maritha told me.

"Another question, Maritha."

"What is it, dear?" She inquired.

"Why is it that you don't call my father by his name, whatever it is?"

"In the end, he relinquished his old name, desiring to be called High Tyto all the time. Even I ended up forgetting that name of his."

"And is the Pure Ones's stronghold far from here, in any case?" I demanded.

"Not really. If you fly starboard for about two nights, you should find it easily. Either you go to them or they come to you. However, I still disagree with your choice in going there ...," Maritha said.

"If you were in my stead, you would do the exact same thing," I replied.

"Maybe I would but be aware that you are risking your life in going there."

"You know that you can't stop and even if you tried, I could easily shove you aside," I said, coldly.

"Yes, I know. You were taught by your father when he was at the peak of his insanity. which means that you were raised to be a murderer. You would have no problems killing me if I ever stood in your way, would you?"

"You're wrong!" I let out.

"Aren't you your father's son. Isn't it your intention to go to the Pure Ones's stronghold in order to take back your rightful place?" She asked me.

"Entirely not! I already told you that my only goal in going there was to obtain answers regarding my past. Nothing else!" I burst out from anger. "Besides, even if you were to stand in my way, I would never use something as useless as killing. It only spawns more hate rather than solving any kind of problems. That's why I gave up on fighting a while ago."

"Well spoken words coming from the owl who killed an entire mob of crows with ease and incapacitated one of the Pure Ones's slipgizzle..."

"H ... h ... how did you know that?" I stammered.

"Haven't I already explained it to you? I'm a slipgizzle and so, I know many things and I had those two slipgizzles under my watch, so to speak," Maritha explained.

"Despite what you may think, I did not kill that owl! I merely crippled him to stop him from reporting to the Pure Ones. What must have killed him is either blood loss or a ground predator."

"That was also the case but you were still the one who caused his death nonetheless. You still inflicted him with a lethal wound. He would have died eventually, even if it that ground predator had not finished him. Everything is against you; you killed him and he was not your first victim. You are a murderer and you will always be!"

"No ...," I spoke.

"Yes, you are. Just admit it already! Admit it that you enjoy taking others' lives!" Maritha insisted.

"I am not ... like them! I will never be for I have something they do not possess!" I burst out.

"And what might that be?"

"Compassion. I have friends whom I care for and only one of them was a Barn Owl. I don't follow their ideal of purity anymore! I have gained a will of my own with the help of my dear friends."

"What you say may be true but nothing tells me that they did not send you. For that reason, I will ask you to leave my hollow," Maritha told me.

"And what if I refuse you kind offer?" I inquired.

"In that case, I will have to force you out," Maritha replied, pointing the battle claws hung on the wall of her hollow.

Knowing that arguing was vain, I complied to her demands, leaving her hollow. At least, this whole meeting had not been completely in vain. While Maritha did accuse me of many things I was not, I learned some other things about my father. Along with that knowledge, I learned that he had not always been evil. It wasn't until he met my mother, Nyra, that he began changing into the merciless leader of the Pure Ones.

I had also been told that even though he had changed in many ways, he still held a small part of the kindness he once held out to those around him. Maritha had tried to get into my mind and she nearly managed to do so if it hadn't been for Hortense's words. I remembered them when Maritha wanted me to admit that I enjoyed taking the lives of others. I did not enjoy killing at all. I rather hated it because when I truly enjoyed killing, I was only partly conscious.

The last time it happened, it was against those crows in the Barrens. In wanting to protect Serenade, I had awakened some instincts but not all those instincts were good ones. Some of them were those I had retained as a Pure One. At that time, I did not know what it was nor could I control it properly. Against that slipgizzle in Tyto Forest, I had somehow managed to control those instincts even if it had been for just a little.

But now, there was a hope of controlling them once and for all. Thanks to all the information my aunt had given me, I could reach the Pure Ones's stronghold in two nights. Well, that was if I could reach the place in one piece.

Anyhow, now that I knew where to find my accursed mother and her Pure Ones, I had no excuses whatsoever that could stop me from going there. However, before going there, I had to find myself a hollow to get some rest. It was folly to go there when I was so tired. Any strong winds I could encounter on this last stretch could easily brush me aside.

Most of the trees I encountered lacked a hollow but after a few hours of searching thoroughly, I finally found one such tree. It was a fir and one of the few in the area. Most of the surrounding trees were pine trees but sometimes, some fir trees could be seen amongst all those pine trees.

In any case, for once in many days, I did not have any dreams at all. Not one about myself neither did I dream of the future like Hortense often did. It felt somehow appeasing because it didn't trouble me in any way. Another thing troubled me, though. And that was the reason I decided to remain among the Pure Ones if I knew of their dark intents.

Moreover, my father also interested me greatly. I was wondering why he was so interested in Nyra. How was it that he remained with her despite all the evil she had shown throughout the years? This question haunted my mind but I had to concentrate on my travels if I wanted to arrive within the night. Maritha said that the Pure Ones's stronghold was about two nights from her hollow and I already had one night and a half done so I thought that I was surely very close to it.

And I was right, after all! Only a few hours after that come came to my mind, I noticed some sort of foundation in the distance. On the walls of that foundation were perched many Tyto owls. Some of them were Masked Owls, a few of them were Grass Owls and almost none of them were Sooty Owls. The most commonly seen owl in that castle was the Barn Owl, obviously.

When they saw me getting closer and closer to their stronghold, three of them flew towards me.

"Who're you? I don't remember seein' you her in the late," one of the owls noted.

"I wish to meet Nyra. I have personal things I desire to ask of her," I answered.

"Oh, you're not! If we can't speak to her normally, there ain't no way she will accept to speak to you!"

"He's right, you know ... we rarely have the right to speak to her under normal conditions," the third owl added.

"Now, I know this may sound yoicks but you'd better call her. I wouldn't want to slaughter you three just to see her!" I replied.

"Ah! As if you could!" One of the three owls barked.

"Would you mind being the one to kill me? I'm warning you, though ... it may end up being different from what you first thought."

"All right, then! If it means that you will stop pestering us, I will be glad to kill you. You may be a Barn Owl but we don't know who you are nor do we know what you want!"

He didn't really give off any warnings but as I saw him getting close and closer, it was as if I was reading his flying patterns. The Masked Owl I had provoked tried to attack me at several occasions. I, however, avoided his every attacks as if they were slowed down. Eventually, I bored myself of this little taunting and I finally decided to counter the Pure One on his next attack.

The attack he tried to land on me, and probably his last one, ended in yet another failure but this time, it would be slightly different. Right after the Masked Owl's attack missed me, I made a static spiral turn and cut open a large gash in the owl's neck. He quickly went yeep and then plummeted down to the ground floor, killing him. He could have just fallen unconscious but even in that circumstance, he wouldn't have lived for very long because of the wound I had inflicted on him.

"Great Glaux! This one was awfully slow! Next time, don't pick a fight with Kurth, you might not live to see the next night," I commented.

"Did you s ... say that you were named Kurth?" One of the two remaining owls asked, stammering from what seemed to be fear.

"Oh! So, I see that someone has heard of me."

"You know who he is, Charles?"

"If this is the same Kurth I have heard rumors about, then he is the son of the High Tyto that ruled the Pure Ones before Metal Beak. He was said to be a ruthless warrior and a pitiless killer. If he's that Kurth, his mother happens to be Nyra. Although, I heard that he suddenly disappeared some years ago, never to be seen until now," Charles explained to the Grass Owl next to him.

"In any case, my demand still stands. I need to see Nyra, and quickly!"

"Right! Of course!" The Grass Owl exclaimed nervously.

They escorted me to their stronghold and it was from there that I understood what the Pure Ones meant by owl purity. There was not a single owl in there that was not a Tyto. Most of them were Barn Owls like myself while the rest of them were the other sub species. As we flew through the castle, I noticed that some of the owls in there looked at me the same way Maritha had looked at me, as if they had just seen a scroom, When we arrived at a tower that was quite high, Charles told me to wait just a little bit more.

"Just don't her my name, I want to keep this a surprise as much as I can," I told Charles.

He nodded and then waddled towards the entrance. A few minutes later, a rather large Barn Owl came out and the moment I saw her face, I immediately recognized her as the dreadful Nyra. Upon laying her eyes on me, I saw them widen as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Another large Barn Owl then came out and walked next to Nyra. He wore a metal mask that concealed most of his face. I figured that the masked owl was probably Metal Beak due to his mask. Whatever! He also ended up having the same expression as Nyra once his gaze met mine.

"Hello ... Mother," I said, slowly and coldly.

"No ... you can't be here. It's impossible for you to be here!"

"Surprised to see me? Of course, you are! After all, it has been so many years," I replied sarcastically.

"You two, begone with you! And, as for you, what are you doing here?" Metal Beak demanded.

"Oh, and he even talks! So, I guess this is Metal Beak, or should I just call him my father's replacement. Tell me, Nyra, was it amusing to plan his death and my disappearance the way you did?"

You are well informed for an owl that disappeared for several years...," Metal Beak intervened.

"That ... tends to happen when you meet many slipgizzles on your travels, including your own in Tyto. They were very knowledgeable but poor fighters, if I have to say so myself. What a shame it is to waste two such valiant informers."

"So, it was you! You were the one who killed our two slipgizzles in Tyto. You have certainly changed your methods compared to...," Nyra began before her mate shot her with his menacing glare.

"Shouldn't you be in St. Aegolius right now, instead of being here?"

"Oh, so you know about my stay at St. Aggie's? Then, perhaps you had something to do with it ... Metal Beak," I spoke up.

"And what if I did? What would you do, then?"

"Nothing for I would have successfully made you talk. You see, I forgot about everything before I was brought to St. Aegolius. Because of that, I need to get as much information as I can get from those who knew about my past and you two seem to be the ones that are the closest to it right now."

"You became perceptive over the years, my son. You were right about me planning your father's death but I never planned any of your disappearance. Instead, it was Kludd's idea," Nyra informed me.

"Kludd? I have the strangest feeling about that name ... like I heard it somewhere before. But why? Why want me gone? Was there a reason for your hatred towards me?"

"Why, of course there was! You see, when I was still a recruit, you were already a proud Pure One and so was your father. He was already quite old and as time passed, he began having some kindness towards others. As he was already old and since that kindness could blind his judgement, Nyra and I began plotting against him. Because she saw something special, and evil, in me, we appealed to the duel ritual and I came out victorious," Kludd explained.

As old as that owl was, he was still an extraordinary fighter and during that duel, half of my face was badly wounded and to cover those permanent wounds, I asked a rogue smith to forge me a metal mask," he continued.

"And that is why you are called Metal Beak, I guess?"

"Precisely!"

"But now, I still wonder why you needed me gone," I wondered out loud.

"Let me explain this, now. I might be a better explainer this time around," Nyra told Kludd.

"All right, enlighten me, O' great Nyra," I sarcastically replied.

"Do not begin playing this game with me! One word is all I need to get rid of you!"

"..."

"Good! Now, if Kludd and I wanted you gone, it was because you became weak. When Kludd killed your father, you lost all of your will to fight. You started hating blood and all the other things we Pure Ones loved. We thought that if you were to stay, you would influence the Pure Ones and make them think like you did. As the High Tyto's, you held a great deal of influence here and many of the remaining Pure Ones saw you as their new leader," Nyra related.

"Me, leader of the Pure Ones? You have got to be joking!" I blurted out.

"Back then, you could have made a wonderful leader. However, once your father died, all of you hopes to become a good leader died with him as well. Because of that, we needed you gone but getting rid of you through death was not an option as you were a skilled fighter, surpassing even the skills of your father. That is why we planned something with the owls of St. Aegolius."

It was true, all of it was true. I remembered those things now. It all started to make sense now. My father was the only reason I became one of the Pure Ones. All I wanted was to make him proud, even if it meant killing an innocent owl. And I did, for his praise towards me. When Kludd killed him, however, I began hating battles, blood and hatred. I was about to leave the Pure Ones when Kludd and Nyra's plans came into action.

It was strange, though. The dream I had was so different from the recollection of memories I was having. Why was that? The answer to that question, I did not hold within my grasp. On a single hypothesis, I could say that it was because my mind simply couldn't accept what had happened while my body remembered it clearly. So, based on that hypothesis, my mind had created an alternate reality to accommodate itself to the harsh reality.

But right then, I was at a loss as to what I should do. Should I stay to hear more about myself or should I just leave in order to go find Soren and Gylfie.

"But now that you are back, this time without your memories, we will have to get rid of you once more. This time will be permanent, however," Kludd threatened before I could decide what to do next.

Before I knew it, Nyra began advancing towards me with a menacing look in her dark eyes. I stepped back as she continued advancing until my forth toes were hanging over a leap, which was probably the castle wall's end. How could she do this? And to her own son, by all means! I had nowhere else to go and somehow, I had to think of something, and fast! Unfortunately, I didn't have have any time left to think. Nyra was in front of me, her right foot raised high.

"Let him be!" An owlet let out, shoving Nyra.

While she did lose her balance, she continued her movement and brought down her talons. They were supposed to be lethal at first but thanks to that owlet, it only wounded a part of my face.

I was going yeep and in a matter of moments, I felt myself fall down from the castle's wall. As I fell, everything began to blur and just before I hit the ground, my vision went black.

—

"So, what are you going to do now?" I asked, a cup of coffee in my hand.

"What do you mean by that? And why do you look like an Other? Weren't we supposed to be one?" Kurth asked.

"Are you going to lay there and die or pull yourself together in order to survive?"

"W ... well, I want to live," Kurth answered. "In any case, are you going to answer my second question?"

"Don't be hasty, my friend. I was about to answer it. Anyway, we were supposed to be one after the blood pact was signed in blood but since you are the dominant being, you unconsciously rejected my presence and while I could still influence you thoughts and your speech, I could not influence your actions. So, we ended going back at the start, as two different minds for a single body. But if your wish is to stay alive, then I have a suggestion for you," I explained.

"And what might that be?"

"Let me be in control until we find Soren and the Great Tree. Until then, just watch and learn how one that was rejected behaves," I said

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"In my world, we are awfully disorganized, selfish and bent on our own petty desires. If you are different from what the others want you to be, you get rejected by the whole society and become an outcast. Due to the environment I lived in, I grew into a cold and insensitive being. I don't like fighting but I know very well how to kill and that was more than enough to keep those I loathed away from me," I told him.

"Yes, but even if you suffered greatly from this, I'm sure that Glaux helped you get through," Kurth said.

"Glaux, help me? Ah! That's a good one!" I burst out in a long laughter.

"What? Is something wrong? Did I say something inappropriate?"

"No, don't worry. It's not exactly what you said, it is rather the whole concept that you introduced," I answered.

"Don't you believe in Glaux?"

"Well, from where I'm from, Glaux is known by several names such as God or Allah. But, due to my experiences, I became some sort of an atheist, one that doesn't believe in higher beings such as your Glaux," I explained.

"But why?"

"Because they are useless! What's the point of believing in something if it can't help anyone. To be honest, my kind caused many wars, claiming it was in the name of those higher beings. That was one of the reasons I began to lose faith in them. Because of my loathing for war."

"If you hate war, why do you fight in the first place?"

"You know, war is a pretty complicated thing ...," I answered, almost in a whisper.

"How so?"

"Sometimes, wars can be easily avoided but when those who always want more get mixed in, war occurs because of the gain it offers, may it be economical, territorial or even a religious gain. War for true justice isn't that bad but a war for a personal gain is something I do not want to be a part of."

"How is it that you hold so much knowledge?"

"My world was ravaged with wars, some that lasted for more than ten years. Also, I am some sort of scholar so I know many things about anything I can learn from books and personal experience," I answered.

"Oh ... so, this is why you are so knowledgeable," Kurth thought out loud.

"Yes, back in my world, I lived in a society where knowledge and money were all that mattered, so while I did not possess that much money, I did possess a very large knowledge," I explained.

"Excuse me, but could you please tell me what _money_ is?"

"Oh, right. Hoolian Owls don't have half of what my civilization had. Well, money is a currency used to trade. Once, they were just pieces of gold and other precious stones but in my time, they were mostly replaced by pieces of paper," I answered. "the more you have, the better. At least, that's the thought that goes through the mind of many of the Others, or humans as we were called."

"So, if I understand correctly, this money is just a means to trade and if you have lots of it, you are more well placed than those that have less."

"Yes, exactly! And now, returning to our original discussion subject, does my offer still stand or have you refused it by asking me those countless questions," I asked Kurth.

"I'm sorry but I think I forgot about it. Would you mind telling it to me again?"

"Ugh! Please try to pay attention. Anyway, what I wanted was for you to give me control over your body until we find the Great Ga'Hoole Tree."

"If it can help us overcome death, then I guess there is no harm in letting you have your way for the time being," Kurth said.

"Good. Now, just follow what I will tell you..."

—

**And that's it for chapter 6! I hope you liked it as much as I liked writing it. Chapter 7 should be coming over the next week, depending on how much homework my college teachers are gonna give me. And not to break everyone's bubble, but in chapter 7, an important character will die. Send me reviews on who you think it will be and the one who guesses right will receive a cookie.**

**So don't forget now, send me your reviews as I am intrigued to see what you guys will have to say. On this word, I shall part with you temporarily**

**—****LordChronicler46**


	7. The Rescue

**Hi, beloved readers. I'm awfully sorry for the long delay but college is giving me a hard time these days. I get exam after exams and I need to study endlessly. Enough of me for now, this is the chapter that I promised you. Those with fragile hearts, bring your box of tissues with you as you'll need it if you are easily saddened. Anyway, behold chapter 7 of The 'Other' Guardian!**

**—**

**Chapter 7: The Rescue**

I opened my eyes once more and when I looked around myself, I saw that I was in a cave. It looked familiar, though. As if I had already seen it before. I tried to get up but when I did, another owl in the cave stopped me from doing so. That owl also looked familiar to me but at the moment, I wasn't able to recognize the owl. All I remembered before I fell unconscious again was that this owl told me I was struck with a fever and that I should rest until I fully recovered.

How much time had passed since I woke up from my second blackout, I did not know. When I looked at the entrance of the cave, I noticed that the sun was still up and that there was no one inside near the cave. I got up and waddled right to the entrance but once there, I hear the sound of talons against the rocky floor of the cave.

"So, you're awake. You know, I don't really think you should be up now. You still need to rest, you wound hasn't completely healed yet."

"Hortense ... is that you?" I asked, finally recognizing the owl's voice.

"Why, yes it's me! Have you forgotten about me already, my friend," Hortense churred as she replied.

"Of course not!" I blurted out.

"But still, something puzzles me. How is it that I am in your cave, so far away from the Pure Ones's castle, and alive, by all means? I thought that I had been left for dead there," I continued. "after I fell from the castle's wall. Just before I fell, Nyra, my mother, inflicted this wound on my face. I think it was supposed to be lethal but an owlet saved me from death. And I think it's the owlet I am supposed to save.

"So, your very own mother would do this to you ... I must say, you should not consider that owl your mother if she inflicted this upon you."

"Oh, you needn't worry about that. She's already long gone in my mind after I managed to get so much information out of her," I informed Hortense.

"Good, but now what? What are you going to do now?" Hortense demanded.

"I'm going back there. If I'm to save that owlet, I need to do it tonight, if tonight is the night of the full moon. However, once I will have saved that owlet, I will have to lay low for a while. After all, I am supposed to be dead."

"I see — yes, that could be a very good idea — so that is your intention."

"Yes, no one must know that I am still alive. No yet, an especially not Nyra or Metal Beak," I said, omitting to mention Kludd's name on purpose.

"Well, in any case, to return to your first question: the reason you are here is because of one of my dreams. I sensed some sort of danger around you and so, I sent Streak to the castle of the Pure Ones during the day to be sure that none would dare attack him. From what he told me, you were lying on the ground, in a small puddle of you own blood, and you bore that wound on your face. He brought you here and upon seeing you in such a state, I went to fetch Slynella. You are lucky, for she could have killed you or left you for dead," Hortense explained.

"And just who might Slynella be?"

"She is a flying snake. Her venom, if used carefully, can kill or heal many wounds. It is thanks to her venom that you are still alive. I wanted to keep you here until you would have fully recovered but if it is your wish to leave, I shall not stop you."

"It is indeed my decision to take my leave but before I actually take my leave, I want to thank you for all of your help. You truly are a friend that I will cherish forever more," I told Hortense.

"Why, thank you, Kurth! Well, I guess this is where our paths part once more. Until we meet again, my friend," Hortense replied.

After that, I took off from Hortense's cave, or Mist as she was now known, and made my way back to the Pure Ones' stronghold, which was deeper into the Forest Kingdom of Ambala. This time, I had made up my mind; even if I didn't wars or the very concept of killing, I needed to fight and kill if I wanted to save that young owlet that had saved my life a few night ago.

If I needed to become a murderer, as Maritha saw me, to save the life of one small owlet, then so be it! Nothing in the world comes without a sacrifice and one measly life wouldn't affect the future very much. History wasn't something that many remembered correctly, so the death of one owl would be remembered by many, considering that Threka was part of the owls of St. Aggie's.

Back in my own time, some would have said that what I was determined to do was an offence to the god they praised. I couldn't care less because I didn't believe in that god to begin with. Anyway, the sun was still up and while I knew it was risky because of the crows, I had to fly fast if I wanted to arrive by the time the full moon would be high in the starry sky.

As strange as it was, no crows even dared to come near me. Perhaps the two crows that had escaped our bloody fight warned the others to stay away from me. Whatever the reason, it was a pretty good thing since nothing was there to stand in my way.

The winds were behind me and flight became much more easier for me. About halfway from my destination, my wings were beginning to feel sore and my vision was starting to blur. Suddenly, I started feeling something drip down on the feathers of my face. It wasn't long after that I realized it was my wound opening once more and while it wasn't a very large amount of blood that did come out of the gash, it was enough to make me go yeep.

As I fell, I saw that the fall alone could kill me, although it mostly depended on the way that I would hit the ground. No! I couldn't let it go now, I had a duty to accomplish and I well intended to to complete it. Death would not claim me just yet. There were still to many things of which I wanted to see, including the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.

Not to forget Soren and Gylfie. I had to see for myself if they had to see the tree safely. Oh, and dear Serenade too! What had become of her? Did she successfully find her brother, Twilight? Had the leaders of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree offered her a sanctuary there? Would they do it for me, a murderer? Could I, a reaper of lives, be redeemed in some way? All those questions swirled inside my head and they proved just how much I wanted to live through this.

I got out of my helpless state and went into a spin in order to avoid hitting the ground head first. I managed to regain my balance and hovered over the forest floor before making use of many power strokes to rise towards the sky. That had been a close one! If I had been just a little more hesitating, it would have been the end of the line from me. That was, however, not in my plans for the future.

At that moment, I had to reach the Pure Ones's castle to complete the purpose I had set for myself. There was one owlet to whom I was indebted to and I intended to repay that debt in full. As I continued to make my way towards that darned castle, the night slowly took the day's stead as the world was slowly, but surely, drowned into the shadows. That meant that I had to make haste if I wanted to get to my destination in time.

I had to be halfway there since I recognized some of the area around me. Or maybe since I was more than halfway there. In any case, I flew even faster, faster than any flight speed I had experienced before. All those efforts were made for one little thing many would consider insignificant. As I passed through a meadow, I recognized it as being the one where I met Maritha, my aunt.

While passing by, I realized that I was getting pretty hungry so I made use of the exceptional hearing Barn Owls possessed to triangulate my meal. Just when I had found a vole, I heard the beating of wings above me. At first, I thought it was just another owl or a crow passing by, but the sound was getting closer and closer.

My instincts then kicked in when I heard the clinging sound of battle claws unlocked and ready to kill, I quickly banked to my extreme left before turning around to face the owl that tried to attack me. I was shocked to find out it was the only owl who would dare to challenge me, even after knowing who I was: Maritha

"What is wrong with you!" I screamed at her.

"I'm only doing what I should have done long ago: kill you!" Maritha replied harshly.

"But why? Why is it that you, too, seek my death?"

"Because you are a nuisance to the Pure Ones!" She coldly told me.

"What are you saying! I thought that you were a slipgizzle for the Great Tree."

"And yet, you believed me with no doubt whatsoever. Remember when I told you that it was your father, along with Nyra, that created the Pure Ones? Well, I lied. They existed long before then," Maritha revealed.

"W ... what?" I stammered.

"And this isn't everything; I lied to you about me being a slipgizzle for the Guardians. In fact, I was one of the first your father recruited and I remained as one of the Pure Ones's most loyal member. At first, I wanted to keep you away from our stronghold without having to kill you but now that you've escaped death more than once, nothing holds me down anymore. My orders do not stand any longer now that everyone thinks that you are dead."

"I won't repeat myself another time, Maritha: any who dares stand in my way, whoever they are, shall fall prey to my talons! And although I wish this could go in another direction, I want to be done with this matter! So prepare yourself, Aunt, because your end is near!" I exclaimed.

I didn't know what to do anymore. In front of me was my very own aunt and yet, I was pitted against her in a battle to the death. I did not like wars and fights in general but I knew that unless I fought seriously, I had no chance against the Pure Ones that stood firm in my path. Of that I was sure!

I didn't want to fight with my own family member, but Maritha left me with very little choice. I had to fight to live or, at least, die trying. In any case, she made the first move and charged me. Although the battle claws she wore on her talons looked very heavy, she still flew gracefully and made use of them as if they had the weight of a leaf. Fighting against such a strong fighter would certainly prove to be extremely difficult.

My mind was telling me to play carefully through that fight while my gizzard was running wild about how I should fight all on against Maritha. So, in the end, I was torn between two choices I supported whole-heartedly. For starters, since Maritha was smaller than I was, she had the speed advantage and that held a great advantage against me. I was surely far stronger than she was due to my unusual size as a Barn Owl but those battle claws she had equipped onto her talons probably made up for the difference in our strength.

I had to withdraw from my mind as Maritha closed. If it hadn't been for my hardened nerves, I would have probably gone yeep a while back. It sure did feel weird to fight in a totally different body and, on top of it, have complete control over that body. As much as I loathed, I knew that there was no way to escape it's sight once caught in a battle to the death.

When Maritha's battle claws fell down towards me, I did the most obvious manoeuvre for the situation and plunged. It was all part of a complex manoeuvre I had just thought of and, although it was highly dangerous, it could turn the tides in my favour if executed properly. As I expected, my aunt followed me into my plunge but because of her weight, she quickly closed in. Hopefully, she would lose that momentum in the next step of my manoeuvre.

Once low enough, I opened my wings and regained my balance. I had chosen the area carefully, even if I didn't have a lot of time to do so, and that put Maritha at a small disadvantage as she had not yet adjusted her flight style as I had. Countless trees stood in the way of our flight trajectory and they could prove deadly at the speed we flew at.

I was often praised for my analytic abilities, as I was able to plan the end of a battle before it even began. However, I wasn't exactly what many could call an accomplished strategist, but it was true that I did possess the qualities required to be one. And to prove that point, I did not choose the area by mistake; I chose it specifically because one would have to make many bank turns in order to fly through the small meadow.

On top of that, the more bank turns one would make while flying normally, the more that owl would lose all the speed it held previously. And since my flight style had been adjusted to that manner of flight, I now held the speed advantage. The next step of my manoeuvre approached rapidly as the meadow guided us to a cliff. There had been a reason why I wanted the speed advantage and it was just for this specific manoeuvre.

The moment I crossed the gap separating the forest floor from the ravine, I dove. However, that plunge was just a trap to lure out Maritha to me. Instead of continuing my fall, I reached out for a special spot of the wall of the ravine and grabbed it. Soon after, Maritha followed and I hoped in all my heart that she would not notice me. If she did, all of my plan would go to waste.

My gizzard seemed to cry in victory when the Pure One just passed by. I knew that this opening would probably be the only one I could get so easily. To avoid further detection, I followed her using a concept known as the silent dive. It allowed me to spy or follow owls without giving away my presence. I was careful about doing a minimum of sounds that could give me away as my goal was to effectively kill that aunt of mine.

I was getting awfully close to her and just as I was about to strike her down, she made a sudden hard alle and in a matter of seconds, her battles claws opened a large gash on my breast, tearing away my flesh as the metal claw left yet another bloody wound on my feathers. Blood splattered around, in the air and on Maritha's breast and face feathers as I plummeted down into what seemed to be a bottomless gap.

"Ha! Did you really think that this trick would work on me? I have far more experience on the battlefield than you, fool!'" Maritha nearly barked."And, did you know that I was the one who proposed Nyra with the plan to get rid of your father?" She added.

And to think that I trusted her! Darn it! Darn it all! It had always been her intention to kill me. From the moment we met until this very moment, she had always wanted to make my father's blood disappear from the world. With such a wound, she could be sure that it would happen. My vision had already started to blur and after only a few minutes, all I was able to see were shadows and silhouettes.

—

_"You know, Kurth, owl purity is very important in this place, but never forget that there are some owls and some kingdoms that set their own rules. I, for one, learned that lesson at a high price; unable to bear my true name because I am thought dead by many. After the years, I eventually forgot my own name. Now, only the name High Tyto is what I can bear."_

_"But, Da? Why are you telling me all this? I don't understand what you mean."_

_"Those are things I wanted to tell you when you were younger but the attention your mother gave you made it very hard for me to do it. Most owls in this fortress know me as the cruel and merciless leader of the Pure Ones but only a few that I have a complete trust in know me as a compassionate friend."_

_"What do you mean, when I was younger? I just did my First Flight ceremony! Isn't that young enough for you."_

_"You are right. While it is true that you are still very young, you are not the young chick Nyra was so obsessed with. You have grown in your own way and that placed disgust instead of praise in her heart."_

_"Still, what is your reason for telling me all of this?"_

_"Up until now, there has not been a single day where I knew what to do what was right for you but now, things will be different. If I am telling you this, it is because I want to protect you. While I still draw breath, I will protect in every way I can think about. However, if I were to die suddenly, know that it was Nyra and that you are next. If that proves to be the case, I want you to flee and find the Guardians. With their help, I am sure that you will be able to crush the Pure Ones one day."_

_"Da! You and I both that it is forbidden to talk of the Guardians so casually! They are our most vicious enemies!"_

_"Do not let your mother's words get into your head. She not only tries to manipulate us all, but her true intention is to rule the owl kingdoms without any pity. Any who will oppose her owl purity will be broken and killed."_

_"But you follow it and from what you are telling me, you are obviously against it."_

_"Oh, if only you had any idea of what I had to go through in order to break free from her manipulative ways. Her beauty is as great as her cunning. Just ... never forget that as long as I live, I will always protect you. And if everything fades to black, just think about another you deeply love or your goal. Even in death,, I will protect you from way up there in glaumora ... Kurth."_

_—_

Why?

Why did I have to remember those memories on the verge of death. No! I would not allow the doors of death to claim me just yet! I would fight for the young owlet to whom I was indebted to. To protect Serenade from the Pure Ones's danger. To find a way to be reunited with Soren and Gylfie. And most importantly; to stay alive!

"Kurth! Wake up! You have to fight!" A voice echoed through the ravine.

"Se ... Serenade ... Is that truly ... you?" I asked, weak and tired.

But alas, no answer came. Just one, heart-sickening scream...

I opened my eyes almost instantly and as I did, I saw true horror: blood filled the sky, feather flew in every direction. At first, I didn't know whose feathers those were as they were mostly all stained by blood. There was one I saw that wasn't stained. One, long and beautiful grey feather. For the first time of my life, I really wanted to bestow death upon another owl

As I saw Maritha dispose of Serenade' body, hate started to boil deep down inside my gizzard. Oh, how I hated my wicked aunt! I regained control of my flight and by using a thermal updraught passing by, I rose up to see a most sickening scene. The stone floor was covered by blood, feathers filling both the sky and the ground.

Without even analysing the situation, I dove right at Maritha with nothing more than rage in my eyes. Taken by instincts I tried to control, I prepared my talons for the inevitable.

"DIE!"

Seconds later, I had pinned Maritha to the ground and, after making sure I had pinned down correctly, I lowered my head to the height of her ear slit.

"Where do you want to go? Glaumora or hagsmire?" I whispered in her right ear slit.

However, before she could even answer, I had already decided what the answer was; to hagsmire. With my foot that pinned her head against the cold stone, I began pulling it with every ounce of my remaining strength. At first, I only heard a few bones crack but after a moment, she began to shriek and scream due to the pain and those screams were fulfilling.

What I sought that night from my aunt was retribution. She needed to be paid in full for what she had done. First, she had my father killed and just a few moments before, she had inflicted Serenade with a lethal wound. Those two acts alone could not be left unpunished. And yet, one of them had been left unpunished for some years. I did not care about Maritha's screams and instead, I just used more strength.

Soon, her head would make a disgusting noise and the next thing I knew was that it was in my left foot, separated from the rest of her body. I had done it again and yet, it didn't install any feeling of guilt in my being. Maybe it was because I had acted to save a friend.

"Serenade!" I exclaimed once I saw that she was still breathing. "What are you doing here? I thought you were off to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree."

"I was ... but then I ... I realized that ... I ... I was indebted to you ... in many ways," Serenade said, her breath beginning to fade.

"Please, don't try to speak too much, Serenade."

"Then ... I thought ... that the best ... way to ... to repay you you ... was to help you in this quest."

"Don't worry, I"ll go fetch Slynella and everything will be all right!"

"I'm dying ... Kurth. I've already crossed the ... the point of ... no return."

"No, you can't! You can't leave me yet! We were supposed to find our way to the Great Tree. To be reunited there!" I let out, tears rolling on my feathers madly.

"Stop ... crying! It's useless ... at this point!"

It was then that I noticed a strange ornament on her left foot. But, it resembled sapphire embedded in a golden case and attached to a small chain. If it belonged to the Others, it must have been used as a wrist attachment.

"That ... pendant belonged to ... to my ... mother. And I ... I want you ... to have ... it. She ... was a ... a wonderful ... poet. Her name was ... Skye..."

And on those words, the valiant owl Serenade died. However, instead of mourning, I promised her something. I promised her that someday, I would kill every single Pure Ones, starting with Metal Beak. I also promised her that I would find her brother for her.

"Just you watch from up there, Serenade!" I burst out in anger. "I promise you that I will kill every one of those frinking Pure Ones. For you and my da!"

"And don't you worry about your brother," I continued. "I will find him and tell him of you. I will tell him of your bravery and courage."

Even if it saddened me to a great point, I could not allow myself to mourn her death at that moment. Serenade had given her life for me because she knew how important my quest was to me. She sacrificed her own life to allow me to reach my goal and I could not let it go in vain. What I noticed about the surrounding area was that the cliff I was on was located near the stronghold the Pure Ones used.

Maybe it was coincidence or dumb luck but either way, my chance to do something good was there, waiting to be grasped. As I rose through the night, Serenade's ornament shining brightly from the full moon's radiance as it lay attached to my left foot, I made haste to the Glaux-forsaken castle the Pure Ones occupied when I heard orders coming from a voice all too familiar: Skench.

I was relieved! In the end, I had made it in time. Still, there was no time to waste and I knew it too well. I began flapping my wings even harder than what I was already doing. Despite the pain the wound on my breast brought me, I was determined to reach the castle before Skench and her owls made their escape with the owlets, especially the one Threka was supposed to carry.

When I arrived at the castle, I was nearly stunned to see the scene right in front of me. The Pure Ones were retreating and the owls of St. Aggie's were storming the castle. Why they were retreating instead of fighting back, I did not understand, but there was one thing that was clear in my mind; I would make sure to change the situation.

To avoid being seen by others, I took height. Both to avoid detection to heighten my chances of diving directly on my target. As I flew above the castle, I saw several owls taking owlets from the Pure Ones's castle. They were obviously from St. Aegolius. What mostly caught my eyes was not the cowardice the Pure Ones showed. Instead, it was a Great Horned Owl that caught my attention.

I recognized that owl as Threka almost instantly because of his right wing. There was a spot on that wing where his feathers were colourless — an unusual phenomenon rarely seen. Seeing that he was alone, I took the opportunity to strike. I plunged down from the sky like a rain drop and a few moments before striking, I readied my talons for a clean strike directly in the neck, just where the helmet he wore didn't protect.

I also had to act quickly because the hit might be lethal and if it was, I would have to save the owlet from a fall that could certainly kill the poor little owlet.

"Threka!" I shouted. "Let that owlet go!"

"Who said th—" Threka began before my talons tore through the feathers of his neck, then his flesh as blood splattered on the white feathers of my breast and face. Unlike what I had planned, my attack was not lethal as Threka did not drop dead towards the ground. He instead dropped the owlet from his talons and then went yeep. My chance was there. I dove almost immediately after striking Threka and I managed to catch the owlet just before it would hit the ground.

After making sure that the owlet was safe and sound, I landed next to Threka's bloodied body. I soon let go of the owlet and slowly approached the Great Horned.

"Who are you?" He asked, even though he had trouble speaking. "One of those fearless Pure Ones, I guess."

"I ain't one of those mindless killers. But you may remember me as 15-7," I answered abruptly.

"That can't be! You're supposed to be dead!"

"Oh, is that something Skench told you to cover her own failure?"

"No, that can't be! Skench would never lie to me," Threka protested.

"I have bad news for you: Skench did lie to you. Unfortunately, I'm the last owl you will you ever see in your life so if you have anything to tell her, keep it for when she joins you in hagsmire!" I announced him before piercing his throat with my right foot's claws.

I watched him writhe in pain as I crushed his throat even more. Blood soaked my foot and while killing Threka wasn't as fulfilling as killing Maritha, it did feel good to fulfil my vengeance on one of my many targets. Shortly after the Great Horned took his last breath, I dislodged my foot from his throat, took his helmet from his head and put it on mine and then took my breath to prepare myself for a speech.

"Hear me, Pure Ones!" I started. "My name is Kurth, son of Nyra and the High Tyto. Three times has death tried to claim me and three did it fail!"

"If I stand here tonight," I continued. "it is to denounce you of your cowardice! Are you all moon calf! You would let such owls as those of St. Aggie's stain your pride so easily? Have you no spine at all!"

"If I were in your place, I would fight back! Now, decide! Will you throw away your pride or will you fight to protect it?" I asked the Pure Ones.

At first, they all seemed to have ignored me but after a few moments, some of them began to get their will to fight back and it became rather epidemic. When a good number of Pure Ones gave chase to the owls of St. Aggie's, the rest of them soon followed the first group, disobeying the orders that Metal Beak, or Kludd, and Nyra must have given them.

Once chaos was set, I knew that it was time for me to make my exit. I grabbed the still unconscious owlet and quickly took off. I flew at a low height to avoid to keep out of sight. Still, even if I had planned in advance, I knew that I would be finished if Nyra or Metal Beak ever gave chase to me. That was the biggest reason as to why I was flying low. Another one were the shadows, giving me an ideal hiding area. It gave me a golden opportunity that flooded my mind; escape from the battlefield.

However, I was still worried about a possible attack coming from either sides. So, to silence that fear, I began positioning my head in the usual position we Barn Owls use to triangulate: meaning that I was able to hear what was coming from above. Both sides were noisy fliers and that was more than enough for me to hear them if they ever gave chase to me.

They were probably all too busy killing themselves rather than thinking about just one owl such as myself. That mistake allowed me to get away with murder. On both sides, might I add. In any case, night was quickly coming to an end and with the condition I was in, I could not fight off another mob of crows. That was why I decided to stain my talons a little more.

I managed to find a hollow, although an inhabited one, but before the two owls living in it could object in any way, I cut open their throats and once they were dead, I got rid of their bodies. I knew that my actions made me the same as Nyra and Kludd but in order to survive, we are sometimes faced with things that go against all we are.

Yes, sometimes very heartbreaking things...

—

**So, I'm cruel, aren't I? I'm sure you never saw that one coming, especially considering Serenade had nothing to do in the situation. In this chapter, we see yet another part of my character and Kurth's minds and beliefs. And, I know that Maritha's death was maybe too overkill but I needed to show everyone how far the character would go to protect his friends. So, I'll finish writing chapter 8 and once it's done (which is surely gonna take a while), I'll update it here. Oh, and by the way, I started a new story. It's a crossover between Rio and Guardians of Ga'Hoole. If you are interested, go on my profile and search for a story named 'The Visitor'.**

**Well, see you folks! LordChronicler46**


	8. The Will to Fight

**Chapter 8: The Will to Fight**

When I had rescued Animae, she was barely fully fledged. After rescuing and taking her in a hollow, whose inhabitants I had killed in order to silence any kind of suspicion that could have come against us. Words travelled fast and the last thing I needed was a division of tyto owls coming after me. Following the events that took place during the siege of Ambala, I was certain that both Nyra and Metal Beak wanted me dead. I had most certainly disturbed their plans and knowing Kludd, he would try to kill me before planning something.

That was if they could find me, though. Who would suspect an owl that was on the runaway after his mate had been killed by the Pure Ones? Such a story was just too real to be contested in the first place. I had the perfect story and with it, I was able to obtain peace for several moon cycles… until a fateful day.

That day, I also had a dream, concerning both the future and two of my dear friends: Soren and Gylfie. However, in my dreams, they were not alone. With them were four other owls: a Barn Owl that greatly resembled Soren in appearance, a Burrowing Owl, a Spotted Owl, and a Great Grey Owl.

They were flying behind the Great Grey, who seemed to be carrying some sort of metallic shield made from whichever metal that was, while they all carried buckets made from the same type of metal. At first, I had no clue whatsoever about where they were, but after closely at the dreamscape I came to realize that they were in the area where the Siege of Ambala had taken place.

My dream went on another scene. This one showed Soren and Gylfie, along with the rest of their companions, face to face with a group of Pure Ones with Metal Beak leading said group. This scene also marked the moment my dream self-made his entrance.

He dived down towards Metal Beak and separated the two groups for a moment until I finally sided with Soren and Gylfie's group. Metal Beak and I both wore helmets, but the main difference between our reasons was that I did so to cover my scar and identity, while he wore his to cover his own scars only. Sadly though, my helmet did not work well to cover my identity against Kludd.

"Uncle Kurth! Wake up, Uncle!"

"What's wrong, Animae?! You saw Pure Ones flying near the hollow?" I asked the owlet with an alarmed voice. I was also worried this would mean we'd have to find another hollow.

You may wonder who Animae is, and I cannot blame you for asking about her identity. To be brief, she is the owlet I saved from Threka's talons during the Siege of Ambala. While Animae sounds a bit 'Other-ish', I assure you that it was the name her parents had given her, or so she claimed.

Still, when I first settled in the hollow we currently occupy, she kept on going about owl purity. As time passed on, and this behavior refused to stop, I began thinking that the Pure Ones had really gotten to her, but at a later point I noticed that she lacked something in her eyes. When I was stuck with Soren and Gylfie in St. Aggies, they both had a certain glitter that Animae lacked.

That realization stuck a chord! Of course, moon blinked owls had the same kind of stare that she had. But surely, the moon's light wasn't strong enough in Ambala to successfully moon blink an owl. In the end, I came up with the conclusion that the Pure Ones had done something to her and the other owlets that closely resembled moon blinking. What they did was completely unknown to me, but this only strengthened my resolve to get Animae out of that strange trance she had been put under.

There were so many things I tried to accomplish that one goal, and yet most of them ended with failure. I was rarely able to catch her attention, let alone break the trance, and it eventually lead me to believe that nothing could be done to help her.

Desperate, I nearly gave up, my sorrows and disappointment welling together in my mind to form a melody that I soon began to hum softly as best as my screeches went. Sure, it wasn't the most harmonious thing ever, but it sounded good to my ears at least as I weaved note after note, melodies unleashed into the air as it soothed me at the same time.

When I finally lay the melody to rest, I quickly took noticed of Animae, who had fallen asleep whilst I was singing. Perhaps my singing voice wasn't all that bad after all, but that was beyond the point at the moment.

Truth be told, it was slightly comforting to see she had finally stopped mumbling about her owl purity nonsense, but there was nothing at all that could assure me that she had completely regained her senses.

With these weighing heavily on my mind, I also began dwelling on what I had planned. My only problem was that I was not sure about what I wanted to do in the end for the days to come. Of course, I knew that escaping from both St. Aegolius and the Pure Ones guaranteed me deadly foes. Ranging from Finny to Kludd, there were many owls that wished for my death just as I wished death upon them in return.

However, what worried me the most was that I was close to Pure Ones territory. What if they eventually found my hollow? Would I be willing to shed blood in front of Animae, or even risk her safety to secure my own selfish desires of quelling the lives of those I despised? I wasn't sure how far I would go to protect another owl such as Animae.

Several hours later, just shortly after the sun had risen, Animae awoke after her long slumber. She had strangely regained her senses and when her eyes landed on my form, she uttered the usual inquiry of where she was followed by an iconic question about my own identity, just as if she had forgotten who I was.

My answer was quick and rich in information. I told her that I was a friend she could put her trust in, while omitting to mention her stay at the Pure Ones' stronghold in Ambala or how I rescued her during the siege.

Time passed on, and soon half a moon cycle had passed, and Animae's trust in me had done nothing but grow as I supported her growth. When the time came I considered her ceremonies, I first tried asking her where her parents had left off, but unfortunately she was just as ignorant on that much.

In order to avoid confusion, I instead decided that it would be far wiser to begin anew in case she had been captured as an egg by the Pure Ones. Once she had agreed to my plans, ceremonies came one after the other and before we both knew it by the end of the moon cycle, it was time for her first flight ceremony.

I had never really taught another owl how to fly, but I was sure glad that Grimble had taught Soren, Gylfie and I every step of the way back at .

Unfortunately, pleasantries and good times came to an end when the owlet asked me the question I dreaded most: where had her parents gone to? Being somehow that despised answered with anything other than clear answers, I answered as best I could.

"To be completely honest, I don't know anything about your parents. I rescued you from one of the owls of St. Aegolius, not that I'd expect you to know about that wretched place. Essentially, I managed to rescue you from the owls of St. Aegolius, who had just captured you from the Pure Ones and it was they who held you captive initially, it would seem," I explained with as much clarity as I could whilst avoiding the mention of the owls I had killed to rescue Animae. "So that leaves me with only a few conclusions: either they were Pure Ones themselves, or the Pure Ones stole you from them."

As I explained myself to her, I noticed that she had been staring at my scars on my chest and face. "Where did those come from, Kurth?"

"They were given to me by my mother and aunt. As I oppose the Pure Ones, on top of having thwarted their plans here and there in the past, they seek only to slay me. Sadly, I slew my very own aunt, who injured my chest, while my mother still lives to this day and she is still alive to this day."

"That's so awful!" she exclaimed as I told her how I had gotten my wounds.

"It is. Truth be told, I don't really care for my mother anymore and I currently seek vengeance upon her and her new mate, the one who fell my father."

"But, isn't that taking it a bit too far? I can understand she angered you, but isn't seeking vengeance upon her a bit too far?"

"It is not for the wounds she inflicted on me, but for a plethora of reasons that I loathe her.

"She… did worse things to you other than wound you so?" Animae asked, dread filling her voice.

"She did. One of those things was having my father, her very own mate, murdered. On top of that, she ordered my aunt to kill me. It was during that battle that my best friend came to my aid, but ended up getting killed instead," I explained, clutching my feet around Serenade's bracelet.

"Is… that thing on your foot from your…" Animea began, although hesitation halted her from concluding her question.

"Yeah. It belonged to my best friend and she gave it to me before passing from this world to glaumora."

It had seemed awkward of me to say such a thing. After all, I did not hold any sort of beliefs whatsoever, but it felt somehow pleasant to believe that there was something higher than us all sometimes.

I could only hope that wherever they were, my father and Serenade were at peace. While it does feel good to believe in something greater, I did not hold any beliefs of what awaits us in the afterlife. No, the very concept of glaumora seemed too utopic for me to truly believe in it.

"Uncle, I think I just saw a bunch of owls flying near the hollow. One of them in particular had pure white face feathers," Animae told me as she looked out of the hollow.

"Nyra! How did she know?!"

"Nyra…? Is that your mother?"

Unfortunately, she is. Now, come on! We're leaving this place right this instant," I commanded.

"But, isn't this our home?" Animae complained at my command.

"It is, but if Nyra finds us, you'll be wishing you never hatched. Her cruelty is as great as her beauty is dazzling," I commented, quoting my father's last message to me.

"But where will we be going?"

"To Silverveil. I know a hiding place there that not even the Guardians could find."

"Does that mean we're leaving right now?" Animae inquired.

"No, not yet. If we leave right this instant, we'll risk being spotted by Nyra and her Pure Ones, and we don't want that," I told Animae.

"When will it be, then?" She asked, growing either impatient or nervous, I couldn't quite tell at this instant.

"When they're out of my sight. Then, we'll make our escape."

We waited a while until the Pure Ones were gone from the immediate surroundings, and once I had made sure that they were gone. It was either pure, dumb luck that not one of Nyra's Pure Ones barged into our hollow. If it had come to that, I would have been forced to kill in cold blood right in front of her, and I certainly didn't want to scar her with those kind of images.

It took a while, but just as we had hoped, there were no Pure Ones in the vicinity. After getting out of the hollow, I instructed Animae to follow me as I guided her through the forest and quickly over the same canyon that had served as the battlefield during my battle against Maritha. I was sure that if Nyra had searched the area thoroughly, she must have already found my aunt's corpse, that is if a wild animal hadn't already disposed of her carcass.

"Attack them, Pure Ones!" Nyra let out.

Her Pure Ones came from under us, just as I had done during my skirmish against Maritha. Their flying formation was well organized so far, so I instructed Animae to fall back and notify me if they also targeted her. I knew they have a grudge against me, but what did they have against Animae and what would they gain from killing her?

"Leave her out of this, Nyra. She is not the one you want!" I shouted as I gestured to Animae to continue flying.

"That is true, but she is by your side and that brands her an impure. Any impure owl must be cleansed from this world!"

"Over my dead body!" I barked.

"If that is your wish, so be it," Nyra replied coldly. "Kill him, Pure Ones. Have no mercy for the owlet as well!"

She was going too far! She had to be stopped! She and Kludd had to be stopped. If nothing was done, who knows what might happen to the owl kingdoms?

But before I could do any of that, my first priority was to protect myself and the owlet I took under my wing a while back. After all, if I couldn't even protect a single owlet, who would I be able to save, in the end?

Six Pure Ones accompanied Nyra. Four seemed to head in my direction while the other two were giving chase to Animae. I had to defend her from those two owl, but with the four that gave chase to me, it was unlikely that they would allow me to do that.

Animae soon began to beg for help, but as I was, there was naught I could do for her, let alone help her as I kept evading attacks that were sent at me by the four Barn Owls that chased after me.

My mind soon began to panic as I saw the Pure Ones force Animae into a dive against the rocks below. She let out a screech when she hit the rocks, calling out for help as the Pure Ones descended rapidly towards her, their battle claws extended and unlocked, ready to reap her life.

"Don't do it!" I screamed, as if my voice could stop them in their descent.

Suddenly, a large shadow appeared in the pale moonlight and in less time required to say racdrops, the two owls that were about to kill Animae were both pinned down. The one that had attacked them was probably the biggest owl I had never seen. Even Serenade looked small in comparison.

"Ain't ya dumb birds have any honor at all? What's all this 'bout attackin' a harmless owlet like that?!" the owl exclaimed.

"And just who might you be, owl?" Nyra asked him.

"Spike's the name and I am here ta help them owls you idiots are attacking," Spike replied.

"Why you…! Pure Ones, kill him with the rest!" Nyra commanded the four owls she had brought with her.

Using his large talons, Spike crushed the skulls of the two owls he had pinned down a few moments earlier and quickly rose to join me once he had made sure Animae was safe and sound. With our skills combined, we could stand a chance against the Pure Ones.

If I remembered correctly, the ranking system the Pure Ones used worked with the Barn Owls being the highest ranked. They were those that had the most training, since they were supposedly the purest of them all.

At the very least, they should pose a weaker threat now that Spike had joined my side. How he had found us in the part of the world still puzzled me, but I wasn't about to complain about it. While I had hoped we could have had some time to discuss, the Pure Ones launched an attack before we even had the time to engage in conversation.

Instinctively, both of us split and flew in opposite direction. The Pure Ones had split in two parties; one of them was chasing me while the second gave chase to Spike. On my end, I focused on the task of eliminating the Pure Ones chasing me and dove right into the forest at full speed, taking care to evade whatever came in front of me.

My plan was to lead the Pure Ones into a trap of my own and get rid of them right then and there. Improvising as best I could, I led the Pure Ones to a large tree about twenty-four pytes away from our current position. It was a good thing I was a skilled flyer as I was able to keep the Pure Ones at bay behind me, but they would surely gain on me when I would begin circling around the tree.

As I had originally planned, I banked around the tree and began to circle it, but to my surprise I saw Spike coming on the other side, almost as if we had had the same idea for this trap. However, I quickly understood why he was doing that. He wanted to switch groups so we would have the element of surprise on our side.

Giving a quick nod, I flapped my wings a bit and caught the upward draft to gain some height just as the Pure Ones chasing Spike came into my sight. Letting out a screech, I unlocked my talons and flew right in-between the Barn Owls, grabbing the exposed part of their legs with my talons, dragging them with me in my dive.

I did feel them struggle at the very best, but with the speed I was coming at, there was naught they could do to break free at this point. I threw them on the ground when I was close enough and stopped my dive to gain some altitude and come right back at them after a loop, sinking my talons in their throats in a flash. They struggled for a few seconds before their bodies went limp and motionless.

Taking a few breaths, my chest heaving all the while, I looked up to see Spike send the Pure Ones he had taken on hurling against the large tree, leaving them motionless as they fell to the ground. Not taking any chances, I took flight and dove right at them, finishing them before Spike could utter a single comment.

"Ya needn't do that," he told me as he landed next to me.

"No, but I prefer to be sure my enemies don't come back and bite me in my back. I've had that happen once and it's enough to make me more vigilant."

"That 'side, who taught ya how ta fight?" Spike inquired.

I felt a lump in my throat as the question left his beak. "My father did," I answered, "but at this point, it's better if we leave that much at that."

"Got somethin' ta hide, don't ya?"

He was pretty good for an owl I had just met. "My past, but the past is the past. I can't change it, but the best I can do is make amends for it in the future."

"Sounds pretty personal ta me. Who was yer father, exactly?" Spike inquired, much to my discomfort about this subject.

"Former High Tyto, the previous leader of the Pure Ones before Metal Beak took over. I don't remember his name, but I believe he remained nameless even in the end," I answered, groaning internally as I saw him spread his wings in a threatening display. "I'm not a Pure One anymore, so calm yourself; the last thing I need is another enemy right now."

"Plus, I despise the Pure Ones just as much as you do for what they did to me," I told him, taking off my helmet and revealing the scar adorned on my face. "Courtesy of my mother."

"You not bein' one anymore ain't reassurin' me one bit, but if yer honest about yer hate about them, I s'pose I don't have ta be afraid of you betraying me," he responded, returning to a more relaxed position and stance. "Say, I didn't catch yer name before. Mind givin' it away, owl?"

"My name is Kurth. Not that I expected the owls of these parts to know who I was and who I am now. You're Spike… right?"

"Correct. Spike's the name, and just so ya know, I'm an Eagle Owl. Yer a Barn Owl, though, that much is clear. Could've mistaken ya fer a Snowy with your size and feathers. Thankfully, your facial disk and flight feathers give your breed away," he explained, taking another look at my form.

"So I've heard, actually. At least, I only share my wings with my mother. I wouldn't have wanted to inherit her mindset, Glaux almighty. Anything but that!"

"Who's she? Maybe I've heard of her before."

"Her name's Nyra. She's the one that led the Pure Ones into battle today to attack the three of—Oh no! Animae. I've got to check on her!" I exclaimed, my mind panicking as it immediately thought of the worst-case scenario.

"Calm down, I'm sure she's mighty fine down there," he calmly replied, hoping to actually get me to calm down in this sort of situation.

"You don't understand! Nyra, she wants her dead just as she wants me dead, and she's basically ready to do anything to kill me right now. If she so much as noticed her on that rock, Animae's either dead of left for dead. I _need_ to get to her as fast as I can!"

"Let me come with ya, in case that damned Nyra planned some kinda trap for ya down there."

I nodded, appreciating his support, although I was pretty sure it was both out of concern and mistrust. I didn't want to assume he already trusted me as it was probably not the case. Still, we wasted no time in flying back to our initial location before Nyra ambushed us and I began to track the flight path Animae had used. I remembered it clearly and traced my way to the rock she had been left on, unharmed for the most part.

I landed next to her and looked down at her, offering what little smile my beak could produce as she got to her feet with some challenge, hugging me in a flash. "I was so afraid, Uncle Kurth! I thought they'd come back for me and that they'd do away with me," she let out, small tears glistening in her eyes.

"There, there. Everything's going to be fine. I'm here now," I softly whispered, returning her embrace, wrapping my wings around her.

"That's a really overused phrase, kid. Besides, don't go around making promises ya can't keep," Spike told me in a harsh tone.

"Not helping, Spike!" I replied venomously.

"Hey, don't throw a fit over what I told ya. What I meant by that was that if it's not them damn crows, it's them frinking Pure Ones lurking at every turn. Danger crawls everywhere and it can kill ya before ya even realize what's goin' on!"

"Really not helping, Spike. The last thing I need is her going yeep because you instilled fear in her mind."

"It ain't like I'm far from the truth, though. If you've been on the run for the past few moon cycles, ya should know that to be true, especially if ya plan to move during the day."

He had a point. Serenade and I had been assaulted by crows when I first met her, and when my instincts were awakened for the first time. Carelessness led to death in these parts, and I was living proof of that, glancing at my talons and the small ornament tied on my leg.

Serenade may have been an overconfident fool, her death had come to her as a result of her selflessness towards me. She had died valiantly and bravely to help me in my goal. As for myself, I had escaped death more than once and, although I admit to my own overconfidence, I can be modest about my own potential at times, for safety's sake.

This much proves that one must be cautious in their travels, especially now that we are in Pure Ones territory. Even if Spike and I were skilled fighters, one accident or one ambush could be the end of us. Even natural disasters should not be overlooked. Forest fires were deadly things and things that should be avoided at all costs.

At this moment, it was impossible to deny I was emotionally unstable, with the way everything just crashed down on me in the last few months, what with it discovering my mother was a psychopath, that her and my aunt had plotted his death and that my best friend died at the talons of my very own aunt, whom I murdered in cold blood for vengeance. To be completely frank, I think I would go yoicks if something ever happened to Animae.

"By the way, you never told us your story, sir," Animae called out to Spike, approaching him slowly.

"I will in time, young'un, but more importantly, d'ya have somewhere ta go to?"

"Well, actually, we were headed for Silverveil. I know of a place there to hide," I replied, quickly answering his question as I glanced around, checking over at my surroundings carefully; I was not taking any chances, for Animae's safety.

"Well, what do you know? I was headed there myself. I'm in need of battle claws so I was plannin' on meetin' up with the rogue smith there ta get a pair. Plus, I heard that this smith's the only one ya can trust."

"Battle claws?" I repeated, sinking in deep thought for a few moments, considering the option of getting some of my own if I ever was to face Nyra and Kludd again. "Maybe I could also try asking a pair too. They could come in handy in the future."

"Just be careful what ya wish fer, kid!" Spike chuckled, his loud hoots echoing around. "The Rogue Smith of Silverveil may be trustable, but I heard she was rude."

"No matter. Just like you, I must try my luck. If I ever step it up against the Pure Ones and go up close and personal, I'll need a weapon. If anything, battle claws would be my greatest allies as my entire fighting style is about overpowering others on top of fighting with my talons if need be."

"Ah, that sounds fair enough, kid," Spike replied with a chuckle.

"So, we all ready to go or what? Unless, of course, you want to rest up a bit, Animae?" I asked, directing my gaze at the owlet with a hint of concern written all over my face.

"We ain't resting up one bit, kid. Nyra retreated, but that don't mean we should be careless. We need ta get as far away from here as fast as possible."

He had a valid point. Nyra was a complicated creature and it was almost impossible to decipher her mind, or what she was plotting, other than the utterly obvious things. Time was precious here and we had to make every second count. Gesturing to Animae to follow us, I let Spike lead the way as I stayed by Animae's side to make sure her flying had not been affected by the Pure Ones' assault.

With Spike saying he knew a quick way to make it to Silverveil, I let him lead the way as I knew nearly nothing about the geography of the kingdoms or the separating borders so the Eagle Owl was better off leading the way compared to me. Simply said, my sense of direction was just awful.

Eventually, I let Animae fly ahead of me so she would fly between myself and Spike, an additional manner of protection as we actively kept on listening to our surroundings in the case we ever encountered any threats on the way. Of course, there was always some sort of risk to flying when in Pure Ones territory.

The landscapes, however, as we travelled were so beautiful and peaceful that mere words failed to describe them. The valleys in the distance, the flowing rivers, the peaceful lakes, the peaks and the waterfalls that some had. In my very own ignorance and goal for vengeance and self-discovery, I had overlooked how beautiful the world that surrounded us was. And on top of it all, the moonlight's reflection in the waters made this even more beautiful, making the soft beams of moonlight shine and brighten the usually dark forests.

Fortunately for us, we didn't have to travel by day as we soon find a fir tree large enough to let us rest, although it was already inhabited by a family of Great Greys. They were kind enough to offer us a place to stay for the night, though I did feel a bit bad for nearly imposing myself on them. They did say it was no worry or problem for them, but I still felt a bit uncomfortable with this.

The only problem was that the two parents froze in fear once I had entered the hollow, with my helmet on my head, nearly accusing me of being Metal Beak at one point. I held them no grudge, for Kludd and I were of the same species, so it was a bit hard to distinguish us when one does not know how Metal Beak looks like save for the fact he's a Barn Owl.

It took a bit of time to explain to them that I was not Metal Beak, and that I wasn't part of the Pure Ones. I tried to explain to them several times that we were trying to flee from him and his gang of Pure Ones. Still refusing to believe me, I finally took off my helmet and showed them my face, and my scar. That proved to be enough for them to realize that I was not Metal Beak, and it lead to them apologizing to me for the false accusations, whereas I responded that I was used to it as the both of us were of the same species.

I also told them that while Metal Beak was unusually large for a Barn Owl, I was still a bit larger than he was. I ignore if his growth had been somehow altered unnaturally, but I knew mine had been kept natural due to my father's wishes, and now I thanked him for that. I wasn't sure if that witch of a mother that Nyra was had tried to do something to alter my growth, but I do believe she never had the chance, considering how I turned out in the end.

To prove my point even more, I told them that Metal Beak had much more brown feathers than me since I last encountered him in Ambala, which wasn't exactly a lie. I did encounter him, though I had not fought him in any way. We just conversed and expressed our disagreement at each other's ideals, on top of trying to have me killed.

Even when I had my helmet covering my face, I still had more white feathers than he did. I was obviously not as large as a Snowy Owl, but I had oft been told that I could be mistaken for one from afar, though my back gave away my species almost immediately, what with those small white speckles of white on my brown feathers.

The owlets currently occupying the hollow with their parents were scared of my scars when they saw them, mostly the one on my face. They eventually grew out of it when I told them that they had been dealt to me by members of the Pure Ones during some skirmish against them.

When asked what we were doing so close to the borders between the Kingdom of Ambala and the Barrens, we each told them our stories, though I kept out the fact I was the son of the previous High Tyto and the current co-ruler of Pure Ones and they all seemed surprised by what we had to say.

"You three really are headed to find the rogue smith in Silverveil?" The father asked, mostly of behalf of his chicks' curiosity, who were currently chattering in the corner, talking about us, and me in particular.

"Yes, that is correct," I acknowledged, giving off a bit of a giggle at the owlets' antics in the background.

"And if I understand correctly, you're wanting to gain access to battle claws to fight against the Pure Ones' tyranny on the owl kingdoms?"

"Precisely. Though they are no joke, and if anything an incredibly powerful threat, something must be done about them and we need to band together to keep these our kingdoms at peace. They cannot be allowed to succeed in their plans, hence why I plan to get battle claws from the smith," I explained, going from one detail to one another, trying to not overlook anything I had on my mind, as I went on, "and from there, probably try to seek aid from the Guardians, if they are more than just a legend, that is."

Of course, I believed the Guardians were real. They were real. My father trusted in them and was living proof they existed, as he had once clashed with them at one point in time, or so I think I remember. If not, then I would still believe in their existence, for I had no reason to not believe in them.

"Ah, I see. Those seem good enough reasons. Although I do not like violence, I do at least believe that something must be done about the Pure Ones before time runs out for us."

"Does that make him a murderer, Da'?" one of the owlets asked, approaching his father, while glancing my way at the same time.

"Just 'cause he fights doesn't mean he enjoys killin', young'un. Kurth here is tryin' ta protect his own and somethin' much bigger than himself. Fer that, sacrifices need ta be done," Spike told the owlet.

"Precisely. I once thought myself to be a gizzard resister, but in order to protect the owl kingdoms, I will have to forsake my own pride and embrace my instincts. Although I may not be one anymore, you were right for doubting me," I told the parents, glancing at them both every now and then. "I was once a Pure One in my youth, as my father pushed me into their ranks, but I have since then deserted them, abandoning the only family I had left. Unhappy with my deserting, they sent me to St. Aegolius to silence me. Obviously, that didn't turn out very well."

A big fabricated lie, and although their looks became more serious when I told them I had once been a Pure One, it soon softened when they realized I meant no offense to them or their owlets.

"Now, now," the mother began, seemingly trying to bury the current matter, "I think that's enough talking for the night, let's all get some sleep."

"Indeed, this is a good idea, ma'am," Animae replied happily.

Through the day, no dreams whatsoever came to haunt me. Maybe it was because the previous ones had not yet become reality, but even if that was not the case, I was glad that I didn't have any visions or peculiar dreams hinting the future so long as the ones that came before hadn't already become real.

Through that relief, I actually managed to get some sleep, something I had lacked in the last few moons because I was hiding from the Pure Ones. The last time I could remember sleeping so soundly was when I first met Serenade.

Soon enough, though, as the sun began to set, leaving the night to take its place, we found ourselves thanking the family that gave us shelter for the day and left the hollow. Animae looked a bit down as she had managed to make friends with the other owlets, but I knew it was for the better. Pure Ones were still on our tail and I would not allow anyone else to fall prey to their talons if I could help it. Leaving the hollow of those Great Greys was the best thing we could have done for them.

As we kept on flying through the night, we eventually entered the Barrens, an area that didn't exactly hold a lot of good memories in my mind. It had been where I had first shown my murderous instincts as a Pure One, and also where I had been mobbed by crows. The blood I spilled on that day still played on repeat in my mind, those gory images floating around in my head continuously, haunting me endlessly. The only thing I prayed for was for us to keep away from that area.

There was an incredible amount of relief that coursed through me when I saw that Spike was leading us into another direction, though it was understandable, considering there was an enormous forest fire straight up ahead. Going into a fire without any experience doing so was just, well, suicidal.

Funny enough, just as those thoughts echoed through my mind, I saw another owl diving inside the fire and through the flames like it was something easy.

"What is that owl doing?" I wondered aloud, glancing at the owl every now and then.

"Probably a rogue smith collectin' some coals to fuel their forge," Spike answered, glancing in the same direction as me.

"Do you think this could be the rogue smith of Silverveil?" Animae inquired, her curiosity piqued at the sight of this mysterious owl.

"Maybe, but fer now, let's steer clear of this fire. Ain't safe anywhere near it," Spike replied, holding still for a moment, the mysterious owl quickly closing the distance between us.

"Wise choice, lad. It's complete madness to send an untrained owl into a fire like this."

Glancing at her form, it was hard to determine what kind of owl she was, due to all the soot on her feathers, so for the moment, I just overlooked her species and focused on her words. Slightly giving a shake of the head, I looked at her again and asked, "And just who might you be, stranger?"

Giving somewhat of a shrug, or what seemed to be a shrug, the owl simply replied, "No one you should bother yerself with. I'm just an acquaintance of the rogue smith of Silverveil. I was asked to collect coals for the forge and I had spare time, so here I am!"

An acquaintance of the rogue smith? This was the perfect opportunity for me to ask her if the rogue smith would see us!

"Any idea if we could come and talk to the smith, then? My companions and I are here on business, and we'd like to see if we could make arrangements with the smith to get battle claws of our own," I told the owl while trying to be as convincing as possible.

"No can do, lad. The rogue smith hardly trusts your kind and refuses to supply any of y'all Tytos with any kind of weaponry."

"What? I'm not the enemy! What have I ever done to be treated like that?!" I asked, enraged by the answer I had been given.

"Dunno," the owl just replied, almost as if evading my question entirely. "You'd have to take that up with the rogue smith, if she agrees to meet with you."

"I know the Pure Ones have done horrible things to owl kind in general, but I am not them! Please, just let me talk to the smith and maybe we'll come to an agreement of some sort!"

The owl's chest heaved greatly as a heavy sigh left her beak, before she glanced back at me with a stern face. "Very well, you may follow me, but don't come back to me saying I didn't warn you."

I silently thanked the owl, hiding my anger as best as I could. I had not exactly liked the way I had been treated by this owl, but I knew somewhere in my gizzard that the rogue smith would probably be worse than that, and I had to prepare myself so I could retaliate accordingly.

I was eager to finally meet with this rogue smith, as I was more than hasty to get a pair of battle claws so I could start fighting back against the Pure Ones, though my actions would probably be insignificant as I was only one owl in this large world we all live in.

"If ya don't mind me askin', what's yer name, owl?"

"I ain't telling. I ain't got no name when I'm workin' fer the rogue smith, lad."

"Quit pestering the fella and just follow him," I told him glancing at him sternly.

His beak almost made a pout at my comment, but moments later his chest puffed out and a series of hoots left his beak as he laughed at me, or the situation, or both. "Fine, fine. But at least I tried socializin' with 'im!"

I groaned internally, turning my head back to face straight ahead, only to see a part of the forest that had already burned in the distance. When I asked why we were going through there, and when I got my answer, I tried to object, as I had no idea if it was safe to pass through there. I was not going to let Animae be endangered by something like that.

Upon hearing my protests, Spike decided he wanted to intervene and become part of the conversation. "Ya know, ever since Animae got injured in Ambala, all yer doing is shelter 'er. Don't ya think she should think for 'erself?"

Faced against that argument, I knew I couldn't retort in any way whatsoever. I just accepted my loss, though I did want to continue my protesting. I would have done so had Animae not stepped into the conversation to share her thoughts.

"He's right. You've been awfully protective ever since we got ambushed by Nyra in Ambala. Besides, have you forgotten about what's going to take place during the next full moon?"

That argument right there was my downfall in this conversation. I knew I couldn't back out of it, and I knew I could no longer say anything to defend myself or justify my own arguments. The simple fact Animae had used my very own dream against me had rendered me defenseless. I just surrendered peacefully letting the owl guiding us to lead us in whichever direction would lead us to the rogue smith faster.

We flew for about another hour, or so it seemed to me, before I finally saw some smoke coming from a small clearing in the distance. It was worrying me a bit to see that ominous smoke coming out of the clearing, as if another forest fire was starting in the area.

"Hey, what's that over there?" I called out, screeching in the way Barn Owls usually did.

"That? Oh, that's just the smith's forge, an' judgin' by that smoke, seems like she's up forgin' somethin' again."

"This is it. All of my travels finally come ta a close. After this, I might try ta go find the Great Ga'Hoole Tree and join the Guardians after that. What about ya, friend?" Spike inquired, glancing my way all the while.

"I have… business of my own I need to take care of. I plan on finding the Guardians eventually, but I need to take care of those things first," I answered, not wanting to elaborate into this business of mine.

Moments later and we landed at the forge where we saw the rogue smith hard at work. The smith's friend walked up to the smith and said, "Oi, friend! I brought you yer coals…along with some visitors."

"And who might they just be?" the smith inquired, before stopping her current activities, having apparently finished what she had been working on. She was probably the blackest owl I had ever seen in my life, with all that soot covering her feathers. Her head and eyes did hint that she was a Snowy Owl, but it was impressing to see how much soot could stain feathers.

Her gaze was, however, harsh as those eyes looked down at me. The more I found myself gazing back into her glare, the more I would see that she seemed to bear a grudge against me as a whole, and, to be honest, I didn't know how to react to this growing feeling in my gizzard.

"Sorry, I'm not interested in working for the Pure Ones, so you can tell whoever sent you that I'll not work for them."

"As I told your…friend earlier, I am not a Pure One, nor do I work for them in any way whatsoever. I'm here on a different business, which also happens to be the same one as my friend here," I replied, extending a wing and motioning it in Spike's direction, while also displaying the scar I bore on my chest at the same time, though not on purpose.

"What do you need me for, then? Go on, humor me!"

Her personality was already starting to anger me, but even so I endured, as I knew that waiting it out would result in the best outcome. Of course, that was if she stopped provoking me, as if trying to prove her point about me.

"The two of us are here for battle claws, smith. I seek them fer protection against any mobbin' on my way to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree and he seeks them for some business he refuses to talk to me about," Spike answered, throwing glances both at the smith and myself.

"My goal in coming here was to obtain a pair of battle claws to settle scores between myself and Nyra. We have…unfinished business between the two of us," I answered grimly, trying to make it seem like it was something serious, not that it wasn't, and make them back away from the subject.

"You sure you want to pick a fight with that owl? She's a fierce one, that she is," the smith told me, glancing at me, and more precisely at my helmet. "By the way, mind taking off that helmet. I don't personally care for owls that hide behind a mask."

Against my better judgment, I complied, slowly lowering my head a bit and grabbing the top of the helmet with one of my foot, holding it tight in my claws. I took it off in a slow manner, though I wish I didn't have to.

Within seconds, I had taken away the helmet and put it down next to me, slowly raising my head to face the smith and her assistant, or whatever purpose she filled, revealing my scar, along with the white feathers that covered my head.

"Great Glaux…" the assistant muttered, her breath taken away by the scar I bore on my face.

"So, tell me now; what is your relationship with Nyra?" the smith inquired, a semblance of a smirk pursed up her beak.

"She's the one that gave me this scar I was hiding under that helmet, on top of being my mother. All things considered, how did you know?" I asked back, puzzled by how she had found out.

"Your eyes. Only Nyra's eyes are this piercing, so I assumed you were related to her. My point still stands, though. How can I tell if you're not here on behalf of your mother?"

"I'm not. If anything, I want to put down my mother, for what she did to me, and my father. I want vengeance, and I will eventually have it, given time of course."

"He speaks the truth, smith. I was there when she attacked him and the owlet he's taken under his wing, and she wanted him dead," Spike added, resulting in me turning to him and bowing my head slightly.

The smith looked down at me and seemed to have trouble choosing, either between throwing me out of her forge, or helping me out with those claws I wanted. Finally, after a few minutes of standing still, thinking of what to do with me no doubt, she came around and surprisingly said," Very well, the two of you will have your claws."

At that moment, I felt like my gizzard was going to burst from my insides so much joy was rapidly increasing throughout my body. I couldn't believe she had decided to trust me despite me being the son of the co-leader of the Pure Ones, but it somehow felt too easy.

"On one condition…"

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not sure if I'm back or not, but I recently got back into the series and decided to pull out my old notebooks with my notes for this chapter and wrote it down right then and there. This was not edited in any way, excluding the grammar check from Word.<strong>

**Anyway, enjoy.**


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